U.S. stock markets on Wall Street closed mixed on Tuesday (local time, Wednesday WIB) as investors weighed the rising threat of trade policies from President Donald Trump against the bullish revisions of Wall Street's outlook for the remainder of 2025.

According to Xinhua on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 165.60 points, or 0.37%, to settle at 44,240.76. The S&P 500 edged down 4.46 points, or 0.07%, to close at 6,225.52, while the Nasdaq Composite rose by 5.95 points, or 0.03%, finishing at 20,418.46.

Out of the 11 key sectors in the S&P 500, six closed in the red, led by consumer staples and utilities, which dropped 1.09% and 1.07%, respectively. In contrast, energy and materials were the top gainers, up 2.72% and 0.53%, respectively.

President Trump reiterated the August 1 deadline to finalize a trade deal, writing in a Truth Social post that "no extensions will be granted."

Later during a Cabinet meeting, Trump announced a 50% tariff on copper imports, sparking a 13% surge in copper prices to record highs. He also floated potential tariffs as high as 200% on pharmaceutical products, and mentioned he may notify the European Union within two days about new sanctions if a trade deal isn’t reached.

Trump’s aggressive tone followed letters sent to 14 mostly Asian countries, detailing import duties set to take effect next month. Despite the harsh rhetoric, market reactions remained relatively calm.

Markets Vulnerable to Negative Surprises

Market analyst Tom Essaye observed that although sentiment was deeply negative in the spring, markets have now become more vulnerable to downside shocks as indices approach their all-time highs.

In contrast to trade-related worries, two major investment banks raised their year-end forecasts for the S&P 500. Bank of America lifted its target to 6,300, citing strong corporate earnings and resilient consumer purchasing power.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs raised its projection to 6,600 from 6,100, although U.S. equity chief strategist David Kostin warned that the recent tech-led rally has narrowed overall market breadth to its lowest level since 2023.

In equities, major tech stocks were mixed. Tesla rose 1.32%, recovering from Monday’s dip following news that its CEO, Elon Musk, launched a new political party. Meta Platforms and Apple saw slight gains, while Microsoft and Broadcom declined modestly.

Amazon dropped over 1%, even as it kicked off its Prime Day sales event, and Alphabet also declined by about 1%. On the other hand, Nvidia climbed 1.11%, after Citi raised its price target on the stock due to surging demand for ‘Sovereign AI’ technologies.

Investor attention is now turning to the release of minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday, reflecting discussions from the June Federal Reserve policy session.
"This latest policy meeting might prove to be more contentious than the one held in May," said Bob Lang, Chief Options Analyst at Explosive Options.