The US stock markets made losses on Friday. At the close of trading in New York, the Dow was calculated at 44,544 points, a decline of 0.8 percent compared to the previous trading day.
Minutes earlier, the broader S&P 500 was calculated at around 6,040 points, a decline of 0.5 percent, while the technology-focused Nasdaq calculated the Nasdaq 100 at around 21,480 points, a decline of 0.1 percent.
Investors may be concerned by the hint from US President Donald Trump that he intends to impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico as of February 1. “The comments yesterday were clearer than previous ones on this topic” said Konstantin Oldenburger, market analyst at CMC Markets.
“At the end, a lasting tariff at this level is certainly not the solution. Instead, it is more likely that Trump will announce a tariff that will be delayed, only applies to certain imports, or begins with a lower rate and will rise over time. These would be all less negative scenarios for the stock market” Oldenburger expects.
The European common currency was slightly weaker on Friday evening: one euro cost 1.0378 US dollars and one dollar was worth 0.9636 euros.
The gold price was able to profit, with 2,801 US dollars being paid for one fine ounce (+0.2 percent) in the evening, which is equivalent to a price of 86.76 euros per gram.
Meanwhile, the oil price fell slightly: a barrel of the North Sea’s Brent crude cost around 22:00 CET on Friday evening at 76.76 US dollars, a decline of 11 cents or 0.1 percent from the previous trading day’s close.