US open: Stocks flat as tariff uncertainty hits risk appetite
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Tuesday 08 Jul 2025
(Sharecast News) - US stock markets opened flat on Tuesday as investors refrained from taking on too much risk as tariff newsflow continues to hit the headlines, casting uncertainty over the economic outlook.
By 1012 in New York, the Dow was 0.3% lower while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were trading more or less flat.
Stocks fell sharply on Monday after Donald Trump re-escalated his tariff war against America's trading partners, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreating from record highs reached Thursday ahead of the long weekend.
While the president pushed back the deadline for his blanket 'reciprocal' tariffs from 9 July to 1 August - to be imposed on countries that do not have specific trade deals with the US - the president has now confirmed higher duties on goods imported from Japan and Malaysia, while keeping South Africa's and South Korea's unchanged.
Trump also threatened to punish countries aligning themselves with policies of the BRICS intergovernmental organisation with an additional 10% tariff.
"So much is happening and changing on an hourly basis, investors can only sit back and await some clarity, while hoping that eventually whatever is agreed won't cause too much damage economically," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
In economic news, the National Federation of Independent Business on Tuesday reported that its Small Business Optimism Index fell just 0.2 points to 98.6 in June, more or less in line with analysts' expectations. A net 22% of business owners said they expected business conditions to improve, down three percentage points over the month but still well above the historic average of +3%.
Market movers
Tesla edged higher after the stock dropped 7% on Monday following chief executive Elon Musk's announcement that he is launching a new political party.
Apple was trading lower after rumours that its top AI executive Ruoming Pang is leaving the company to joint Meta Platforms.
Oracle was putting in decent gains, extending its recent strong run, after unveiling a series of major cloud-services agreements last week. The stock, which has now risen by a third over the past month, was being helped higher by positive comments from Jefferies on Tuesday, who said it "remains a standout" among large software companies.
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN