Stock Market Today: Stocks Drop as Trump Takes Aim at EU, Apple
The commander in chief issued new tariff threats against the European Union and the iPhone maker.
Stocks opened sharply lower Friday, with investors spooked by President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats. The main indexes came off their lows throughout the session, but still headed into the long holiday weekend with stiff weekly losses.
As a reminder, Monday is a stock market holiday, with both the equities and bond markets closed in observance of Memorial Day.
Today, all eyes were on Washington, D.C., after Trump threatened the European Union with 50% tariffs due to difficulties in trade negotiations.
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"Our discussions with them are going nowhere!," Trump posted on Truth Social. "Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States."
Trump threatens Apple with 25% tariffs
Trump also took aim at Apple (AAPL), warning the tech giant that it will get hit with 25% tariffs on its iPhones if it does not move production back to the United States.
In a separate post, Trump wrote that he "long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone's that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else."
Trump added that if this is not the case, "a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S."
Reuters reported in late April that the tech giant is planning to move most of its manufacturing for iPhones sold in the U.S. to India by the end of this year.
In a May 16 note to clients, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote that Apple's "aggressive push towards India production has been a very smart strategic move given the uncertain tariff environment facing Apple in China."
He added that he anticipates "more pressure from the Trump Administration on Apple to build iPhone production in the U.S.," but doing so "would result in an iPhone price point that is a non-starter for Cupertino and translate into iPhone prices of ~$3,500."
Apple stock closed down 3.0% today, easily making it the worst Dow Jones stock.
Oklo pops on President Trump's new executive order
Oklo (OKLO) stock jumped 23% after President Trump issued new executive orders aimed at boosting nuclear energy.
Trump's directives call for a "total and complete reform" of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), a decades-old agency that regulates the country's nuclear reactors.
It also requires the Departments of Energy and Defense to create a regulatory framework aimed at constructing nuclear reactors on federal land.
These orders will allow "for safe and reliable nuclear energy to power and operate critical defense facilities and AI data centers," a Trump administration official told reporters, according to CNBC.
Oklo is a nuclear technology company that designs and builds reactors, and its share price has more than doubled for the year to date.
Wedbush's Ives sees even more upside for the utility stock and raised his price target to $55 from $45 on Friday.
"Our confidence in the AI Revolution data-center buildout is increasing under the Trump Administration with nuclear energy ultimately playing a key role in powering data centers at the foundation of the fourth Industrial Revolution, and OKLO is set to be a major player," he says.
Deckers Outdoor slides after earnings
Deckers Outdoor (DECK, -19.9%) was the worst S&P 500 stock Friday after the UGG maker reported earnings.
While the footwear company disclosed higher-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, it failed to give full-year guidance for fiscal 2026 due to "macroeconomic uncertainty related to evolving global trade policies."
It also forecast fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue that are lower than what Wall Street anticipates.
Still, UBS Global Research analyst Jay Sole reiterated his Buy rating on the consumer discretionary stock.
"We see a very good opportunity to buy shares in a growth company on a big pullback," Sole writes in a note to clients. "We expect DECK's EPS to positively surprise over the next couple quarters due to its Hoka brand sales growth rate accelerating."
As for the main indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% to 41,603, the S&P 500 dropped 0.7% to 5,802, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1% to 18,737. The three indexes finished with weekly losses ranging from 2.4% to 2.6%.
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