Tonight’s Highlights | Trump Unleashes New Tariff Storm, US Futures Slip Slightly
On Thursday, July 10, 2025, the financial markets are reacting to a fresh wave of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump, leading to a cautious mood. U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Thursday, while major European indices saw mostly upward movements.
In the previous trading session, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average ended a two-day decline, rising 0.6% and 0.5% respectively, while the Nasdaq surged 0.9% to a new all-time high.
This uptick was largely fueled by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, with leader Nvidia jumping nearly 2% on Wednesday, briefly becoming the first company to surpass a $4 trillion market cap. The market’s optimism around AI temporarily overshadowed Trump’s latest tariff announcements.
On Wednesday, Trump unveiled new tariff rates for multiple countries, with Latin America’s largest economy, Brazil, facing a steep 50% tariff. Additionally, he announced a 50% tariff on imported copper effective August 1, 2025.
Jeremy Siegel, a finance professor at Wharton School and Chief Economist at WisdomTree, commented on Wednesday, “Artificial intelligence might be just what’s needed to offset the price increases from tariffs.”
He added, “If we don’t hear much negative fallout, this bull market likely has room to run. But if new hurdles become hard to overcome, market volatility could intensify this quarter.”
Investors are now shifting focus to the upcoming second-quarter earnings season, which will peak next week.
Delta Air Lines soared over 12% in pre-market trading on Thursday, following a better-than-expected Q2 earnings report and the restoration of its full-year guidance.
Company News
On July 10, Delta Air Lines reported a Q2 2025 net profit of $2.13 billion, up 63% year-over-year. The airline also reinstated its full-year guidance, projecting earnings per share of $5.25 to $6.25 and free cash flow of $30 to $40 billion.
According to three informed sources, OpenAI plans to launch an AI-driven browser in the coming weeks, aiming to revolutionize how users navigate the web.
Reports suggest Amazon is considering further investment in Anthropic to strengthen their AI collaboration.
Insiders reveal OpenAI is preparing to release an “open weight model” as early as next week. Unlike its typical “closed weight” models, where training parameters are kept private, this model, similar to “o3 mini,” boasts the acclaimed reasoning capabilities of OpenAI’s latest offerings.