Stock Market Live July 11: S&P 500 (VOO) Tumbles as Trump Fires Up the Trade War Again
Key Points
-
President Trump announced even more tariffs last night. The latest targets: Canada, pharmaceuticals importers, and… everyone in the world.
-
Levi Strauss reported strong earnings in its fiscal Q2, and guided for an earnings beat this year.
- Finding the best credit card just got a lot easier. We’ve assembled a list of cards with unlimited cash back, $200 statement credits, $0 fees, and more. See the list for yourself.(sponsored)
Live Updates
Get The Best Albemarle Live Earnings Coverage Like This Every Quarter
Get earnings reminders, our top analysis on Albemarle, market updates, and brand-new stock recommendations delivered directly to your inbox.
Friday Wrap-up
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF closed at 573.26 on Friday, down 0.3% for the day and down 0.5% for the week.
Elon Musk is in Hot Water in France
France is reportedly probing allegations that X (nee Twitter) manipulated its algorithms for the purposes of “foreign interference,” violating local French law and mishandling user data. X is no longer a public company since being taken private by Elon Musk, who also runs S&P 500 component company Tesla (NYSE: TSLA).
France is considering the option of charging X criminally for its actions.
Tesla stock is up 0.3% this afternoon, while the Voo is still down 0.2%.
A Little Trouble in Big China
Germany’s Volkswagen is struggling in China. The entire Volkswagen “Group” of companies sold 2.93 million vehicles in China in 2024, down 9.5% from 2023. To better match supply with demand, the company announced today it will shutter its Chinese vehicle assembly plant in Nanjing, which has been operated in cooperation with SAIC Motor. Opened in 2008, the plant has a maximum annual product capacity of 360,000 cars.
AMC's a Blockbuster Today
One stock sidestepping the stock market downturn today is AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE: AMC). The meme stock got a vote of support from the Wall Street establishment this morning when Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter upgraded AMC to outperform with a $4 price target.
Memes or no memes, “AMC is poised to benefit from a more consistent release slate [of movies] over the next several quarters,” writes Pachter. AMC’s also likely to gain market share in 2025 and 2026 “with the most premium screens in North America and expansion plans in UK/EU.”
AMC stock is up 5.8% this morning, while the Voo is still down 0.5%.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
He’s doing it again. Last night, President Trump widened his trade war-against-the world.
After announcing 25%-plus tariffs on more than a dozen countries Tuesday, and 50% tariffs on copper and on imports from Brazil Wednesday, last night the President conducted his latest bombing run on the stock market. Tariffs on certain Canadian imports may rise to 35%, warned the President, while minimum “blanket” tariffs applied across the board and around the globe may rise from 10% to 15% or even 20%. And similarly around the world, tariffs on pharmaceutical imports to the U.S. could rise to 200%. (Although the President says this won’t happen for 12 to 18 months, investors have to start worrying about this already today).
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) suggests investors got the message, falling 0.5% premarket.
Earnings
Tariffs aren’t the only news investors must weigh today. And some of the news is even good. After close of trading Thursday, iconic jeans-maker Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE: LEVI) reported $0.22 per share in Q2 profit, nearly twice was analysts had forecast.
Levi followed up the good earnings news with guidance suggesting the company will beat earnings for all of 2025 as well, promising full-year profits between $1.25 and $1.30 per share.
Just as iconic lubricants specialist WD-40 (NYSE: WDFC) said it earned $1.54 per share in its fiscal Q3, $0.12 better than forecast. Revenue came up a bit short at $156.9 million, however, and WD-40’s guidance for full-year profit between $5.30 and $5.60 misses (at the midpoint) analysts’ consensus forecast for $5.52 per share.
Analyst Calls
In analyst action, UBS downgraded lithium miner and S&P 500 component company Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) to sell with a $57 price, suggesting 23% downside risk in the stock. UBS warns “lithium markets will remain oversupplied through 2026,” and lithium prices, which most analysts have pegged between $17 and $18 per kilogram in 2026, could fall as low as $10 per kilogram or worse.
UBS also cut S&P 500 component Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) stock, but only to neutral, warning of weakening demand for copper and — not least — President Trump’s threat to impose 50% tariffs on imported copper beginning August 1.
© Wanan Wanan / Shutterstock.com
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks