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President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Mexico sank the country’s peso currency, but also translated into modest weakness for other currencies in the region on Tuesday.
The dollar soared 2.3% versus the Mexican unit, but was also up 0.5% versus the Colombian peso, 0.1% against the Chilean peso and 0.3% against the Brazilian real.
The Colombian currency’s weakness “reflects concerns about how U.S. protectionism could impact Colombian exports to the United States. In contrast, the Chilean peso has shown greater resilience due to its diversified export base. However, Chile remains vulnerable to a potential decline in global demand for commodities, which could negatively affect its currency,” said Quasar Elizundia, strategist at Pepperstone, in emailed comments.
“Amid a context of growing uncertainty, Latin American currencies face significant pressures, and Trump’s tariff policies could deepen volatility in the region,” Elizundia said.
The S&P 500 was trading 0.3% higher on Tuesday, at 6,005.99. If it maintains this level, the index is set to close at another record high.
The S&P 500’s current record close is 6,001.35. While the index reached an intraday high of 6,020.75 on Monday, it gave up those gains by market close. If the index keeps up this momentum, it’ll be the first record close since Nov. 11 and the 52nd time the index closed at a record high.
The index is up for seven consecutive trading days.
Shares of biotech company Amgen slid Tuesday morning, trading around 12% lower. The drop was significant enough to drag the entire Dow Jones Industrial Average lower, because the index is price-weighted.
An hour after market open, the Dow was trading 0.6% lower. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 was up about 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.4%.
Amgen released data on its weight-loss treatment MariTide, which showed up to 20% average weight loss at 52 weeks. Wall Street analysts had hoped the drug would result in 20% to 25% average weight loss, making it more competitive with other treatments.
The company was the worst performer in the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes.
Last night, President-elect Donald Trump took to Truth Social to declare his intention to slap new tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico immediately after returning to the White House.
Trump said he would take the action unless those countries take steps to reduce the flow of undocumented migrants and illegal narcotics into the U.S.
So far, the reaction across markets has been fairly muted, with U.S. stocks appearing largely unfazed by the news. The biggest impact has been felt in the currency market, where the U.S. dollar touched multiyear highs against the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso. Exchange-traded funds holding Mexicanand Canadian stocks also opened lower.
Still, many investors are likely wondering what Trump’s announcement might mean going forward. Deutsche Bank strategist George Saravelos has highlighted 10 important takeaways from Trump’s announcement:
Small-cap stocks have rallied over the past month, as they try to catch up to the impressive performance of large cap stocks this year.
The Russell 2000 Index, which tracks small-cap companies, is up over 10% month-to-date, double the monthly growth of the S&P 500. This recent rally helped push the Russell 2000 to a new intraday high on Monday — surpassing highs set back in November 2021.
Although the Russell 2000 was trading around 0.6% lower on Tuesday morning, the index’s recent performance could hint at more strength in the future.
“You may recall the Russell 2000’s 10.1% rally in July. Going back to 1979, any time the Russell 2000 posted a monthly gain of 10% or more, it was higher 90% of the time (18/20 occasions) six months later with an average gain of roughly 11.5%. So far, this pattern is right on track,” Bret Kenwell, U.S. investment analyst at eToro, wrote in a note.
Kenwell pointed out that a favorable macro backdrop could push the small-cap rally further. He specifically called out how lower interest rates favor small-cap and midcap companies, and a solid U.S. economy with historically low unemployment bodes well for these companies.
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Global platinum supply is forecast to fall short of demand for a third consecutive year in 2025, with automotive demand expected to hit an eight-year high, according to a report from the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) released Tuesday.
In 2025, the global platinum market is expected to see a deficit of 539,000 ounces, with total demand at 7.863 million ounces and total supply at 7.324 million ounces, the report said. For this year, WPIC forecasts a deficit of 682,000 ounces.
Global automotive demand for platinum is expected to fall by 2% year-on-year in 2024 to reach 3.173 million ounces, the report said. However, as automakers adjust strategies to boost lower carbon dioxide emissions, automotive platinum demand is projected to strengthen by 2% year-on-year to reach 3.245 million ounces in 2025, which would be the highest level since 2017, WPIC said. Platinum is used in catalytic converters, which are exhaust emission control devices for vehicles with combustion engines. In Tuesday dealings, January platinum was down $11.60, or 1.2%, at $932.90 an ounce on Comex.
The platinum market will experience a “significant and meaningful deficit” in 2025, driven by “robust demand and ongoing supply vulnerabilities,” Trevor Raymond, chief executive officer of WPIC, said in a statement. Continued growth in automotive demand will be key to overall demand growth next year, he said. Platinum demand will also get a boost from “stricter emissions legislation, an increase in hybrid vehicles that continue international combustion engines, and the growth in annual platinum for palladium substitution.”
The major U.S. stock indexes opened mixed on Tuesday morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened lower, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite opened higher.
On Monday evening, President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on his first day in office. This had an immediate impact on the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso, both of which dropped against the U.S. dollar following the news.
However, U.S. equities mostly shrugged off the tariff news. Investors were assessing which companies would be most affected, and shares of automakers including Ford Motors and General Motors slipped in premarket trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened at 44,614.89, down about 0.3%.
The S&P 500 opened at 6,000.03, up 0.2%.
The Nasdaq Composite opened at 19,109.08, up 0.3%.
Long-term Treasury yields were edging higher Tuesday after President-elect Donald Trump threatened on Monday evening to impose news tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was up about three basis points Tuesday morning at around 4.39%, while the 30-year Treasury yield rose about four basis points at around 4.49%, according to FactSet data, at last check. The shorter-term two-year Treasury yield was down about one basis point Tuesday morning at around 4.26%.
Best Buy Co. Inc. shares are down 2.1% in premarket trades Tuesday after the electronics retailer reported third-quarter sales and earnings that came in below analysts’ estimates.
Sales “were a little softer than expected” during the quarter, Best Buy Chief Executive Corie Barry said in a statement. “During the second half of the quarter, a combination of the ongoing macro uncertainty, customers waiting for deals and sales events, and distraction during the run-up to the election, particularly in non-essential categories, led to softer-than-expected demand,” she added.
The stocks of companies that make the new class of drugs to treat obesity and manage diabetes were higher across the board early Tuesday, after the Biden administration proposed a rule that would allow Medicare or Medicaid to cover the expensive medications.
The proposal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sets the stage for a potential showdown between the powerful pharmaceutical industry and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an outspoken opponent of the weight-loss drugs who, as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the agency, could try to block the measure, as the Associated Press reported.
Kennedy is a known opponent of the GLP-1 drugs, which act by mimicking the hormones that regulate appetites by communicating fullness between the gut and brain when people eat.
