Investing.com -- The S&P 500 closed slightly lower Friday, ending the week in the red as traders opted for caution ahead of trade talks between China and U.S. this weekend.
At 4:00 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 119 points, or 0.3%, the S&P 500 index dropped 0.1%, and the NASDAQ Composite was flat.
Trump hints at 80% Chinese tariffs ahead of trade talks
Ahead of meeting between U.S. officials and their Chinese counterparts this weekend, President Trump hinted at a possible 80% tariff on China in a social media post, cooling some expectations for breakthrough on the current trade war between the world’s largest economies.
In his post, Trump stated, "Trump: 80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B," referring to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
It remains unclear whether Trump intends for the 80% tariff to be a long-term measure, a temporary reduction from the current 145% tariff, or if he is granting Bessent authority to negotiate lower tariffs with China.
An 80% tariff would be significantly lower than the current 145% tariff imposed on many Chinese goods. However, even this reduced rate could be seen as a barrier to trade.
“A de-escalation with China is realistically the only thing that can meaningfully move the dial on the tariff hit,” ING added.
Fed speakers in focus
Among the flurry of Fed speakers that were in focus on Friday, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic’s remarks were notable after acknowledging that the economy is expected to be far less resilient than previously expected.
"My baseline outlook is we’re still going to see resilience from the economy, but it’ll be less resilient than I expected at the beginning of the year," Bostic said.
The remarks from Bostic were in sharp contrast to that of his colleagues, undermining market expectations for three to four rate cuts this year. Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler said policymakers suggested the economy was healthy, allowing the Fed to remain patient on further rate cuts.
A busy week of quarterly earnings is coming to an end, and the corporate focus may turn to Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) Friday.
The chip giant is planning to release a less-powerful version of its H20 artificial intelligence chip in China within the next two months, as it moves to meet stricter U.S. export restrictions, Reuters reported.
That said, there were still some results to digest.
Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ:AFRM) stock fell 14% after the buy-now-pay-later firm’s outlook for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2025 failed to impress, even as it reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings.
Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) stock slumped more than 7% after the online travel-booking platform missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue due to weaker than expected demand in the U.S..
Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) stock climbed nearly 5% after the image-sharing company provided a strong quarterly revenue forecast which allayed investor jitters about the uncertainty of advertising spending on its platform amid global economic volatility.
LYFT Inc (NASDAQ:LYFT) jumped more than 28% after boosting its stock buyback program to $750M as the ride-sharing company swung to a profit in Q1.
Microchip Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MCHP), meanwhile, posted better-than-expected guidance for the current quarter, sending its shares up more than 12%.
(Peter Nurse, Ayushman Ojha and Frank DeMatteo contributed to this article.)