Washington, March 13, 2025 (AFP)
Wall Street stocks opened lower Thursday on a fresh wave of tariff threats by US President Donald Trump, and despite producer inflation remaining flat.
About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.2 percent to 41,288.14 while the broad-based S&P 500 Index declined 0.2 percent to 5,587.43.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.4 percent to 17,575.50.
Early Thursday, Trump warned on social media that the United States could soon impose a 200 percent tariff on all wines, champagnes and alcoholic products from France and other European Union countries.
His threat came after the EU announced a series of countermeasures against new US steel and aluminum tariffs -- including a sharp hike targeting US whiskey.
Trump said Washington would strike back "if this Tariff is not removed immediately," referring to the planned whiskey levy.
On Thursday, government data also showed that the producer price index was flat in February, after a 0.6 percent rise in January.
"That's pretty good news in terms of inflation but the problem is, you have a trade war that's expanding," Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities said.
While recent inflation reports have been encouraging, Cardillo added that markets are wary as the full effects of Trump's tariffs -- which mostly came into place this month -- have yet to be seen.
"This data is not reflecting the tariffs at all," he added.
Looking ahead, investors will be eyeing the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week, alongside Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on the economy.

Sumber : AFP