Wall Street Hits Records Despite Tariff Talk

U.S. stocks climbed to record highs on Tuesday despite concerns about potential tariffs announced by President-elect Donald Trump, Associated Press reporters Stan Choe and Elaine Kurtenbach.

Trump has frequently advocated for tariffs, but investors are debating whether his latest statements are serious policy intentions or negotiating tactics. I Photo: Nasdaq Facebook

The S&P 500 gained 0.6%, surpassing the record set just two weeks ago. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 123 points, or 0.3%, to set a new record, and the Nasdaq composite increased by 0.6%, led by Microsoft and other Big Tech companies.

Stock markets outside the U.S. mostly saw slight declines after Trump announced plans to impose broad tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China once he takes office.

The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.1%, while Hong Kong’s market was nearly unchanged. Canada’s main stock index also edged down by less than 0.1%.

Trump has frequently advocated for tariffs, but investors are debating whether his latest statements are serious policy intentions or negotiating tactics. For now, markets seem to interpret the comments as an opening move rather than a final decision.

Economists Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi of High Frequency Economics cautioned that implementing such tariffs could disrupt the global economy and hurt U.S. households by increasing the cost of imported goods like automobiles and energy products.