Stock market news for May 23, 2025

Shares declined Friday after President Donald Trump raised commerce fears once more, warning Apple  and recommending stiffer duties on the European Union.

The Dow Jones Industrial Common misplaced 256.02 factors, or 0.61%, to finish at 41,603.07. The S&P 500 shed 0.67% and closed at 5,802.82, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1% and settled at 18,737.21.

Apple shares fell 3% after Trump posted on Reality Social that iPhones bought within the U.S. should be made within the U.S. and if they don’t seem to be “a tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple.” The transfer in opposition to Apple by Trump is the primary in opposition to a selected firm in his tariff rollout this yr.

The president additionally mentioned commerce discussions with the EU “are going nowhere” and really useful “a straight 50% tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025.”

Shares got here off their lows of the day after CNBC’s Eamon Javers reported the White House did not interpret Trump’s remarks as a proper assertion of coverage.

Trump’s actions come at a time when tariff tensions had been easing. Trump in April carried out duties on most nations on the earth, which rattled the inventory market and almost put the S&P 500 in a bear market. The president then paused the stiffest tariffs for 90 days and hatched some preliminary agreements with the U.Ok. and China, inflicting shares to get better. The S&P 500 received again to even on the yr final week, however was again in destructive territory on the finish of Friday’s buying and selling.

Traders had been shopping for shares on hypothesis that extra agreements could be rolling out with varied nations throughout this three-month pause. Friday’s actions by Trump may imply that hope was misplaced.

“We’ve had this de-escalation tailwind at the market’s back for like six weeks now — and the market has had one of its best six-week stretches in the last 75 years — and a re-escalation of trade war rhetoric threatens that. I don’t think we’ll retest the lows or anything like that, unless it really ramps up, but this is certainly a step in the wrong direction from the market’s perspective,” mentioned Ross Mayfield, funding strategist at Baird, in an interview with CNBC.

Elsewhere, shares of United States Metal surged 21% after Trump mentioned on Truth Social that the corporate would kind a “partnership” with Nippon Metal. Earlier this yr, the Japanese firm’s bid to purchase its U.S. rival had been blocked.

Friday’s declines added to the market’s weekly losses. The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all misplaced greater than 2% on the week.

Wanting forward, Rick Wedell, the president and chief funding officer at RFG Advisory warned that this “roller coaster ride” of de-escalating and re-escalating tariff tensions is prone to be a everlasting fixture of Trump’s second time period.

“It is very important for investors to understand that this lingering trade issue is likely to be here for, I think, the duration of this administration. I don’t think they are going to look the other way on trade at any point. I think they think of this as a defining characteristic of the administration’s legacy is fixing the international trade deals,” he mentioned. “I would just encourage investors to never get lulled into a false sense either way.”