Global stocks mostly retreated on Friday as countries pushed to secure trade deals with the Trump administration ahead of a July 9 deadline for US tariffs to take effect.
Markets also weighed the possible impact of US President Donald Trump's sweeping spending bill set to add an estimated $3.4 trillion to the national debt. He signed the bill into law on Friday.
Uncertainty around US tariffs will probably “remain severe” until late 2025, irrespective of what happens on July 9 when the Trump administration's 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs comes to an end, S&P Global Market Intelligence said in a report on Friday.
“Within the likely scenarios, the most plausible outcome is a pragmatic mix of tariff pauses for countries that are undertaking positively viewed negotiations, alongside tariff increases for those countries where the administration believes trade negotiations have stalled,” the report said.
While Mr Trump has warned new tariffs are likely, S&P said it expects “some form of negotiation-based pause for most trade partners, based on prior policy backtrack”.
Although the US has reached tariff deals with the UK, mainland China and Vietnam, other pending arrangements, including those with the EU, Japan and India, “remain complicated” by country-specific political issues, it added.
Mr Trump on Friday said he had signed 12 trade letters to be sent out next week ahead of the impending July 9 deadline for his tariffs to be implemented.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 closed 0.48 per cent lower on Friday,
London's FTSE 100 ended flat as tariff worries kept trading enthusiasm to a minimum. The index lost just 0.29 points at 8,822.91.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended down 0.8 per cent, while Frankfurt's DAX fell 0.6 per cent.
Asian markets closed out the week mixed.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.64 per cent, while the Shanghai composite was up 0.32 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei inched 0.06 per cent higher.
Wall Street was closed on Friday for the US Independence Day holiday.
Gold rose 0.3 per cent as investors sought safe havens and the dollar dipped.
Brent, the benchmark for two-thirds of the world's oil, fell 0.73 per cent to $68.3 a barrel at close of market on Friday, while West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, dropped 0.75 per cent to $66.5 a barrel.
Brent settled about 0.8 per cent higher than last Friday's close and WTI was about 1.5 per cent higher.
