CNBC Daily Open: Tariff flexibility sounds good, but also signals uncertainty

“Flexibility” connotes openness to change. U.S. President Donald Trump expressed Friday the possibility of being flexible with tariffs, which may have helped stocks tick up, pushing the three key U.S. benchmarks into the green for the week.

But, in its suggestion of adapting to circumstances, “flexibility” also signals uncertainty, something anathema to the market. Trump’s comments must also be taken into context. He qualified that “there’ll be flexibility, but basically it’s reciprocal,” and appeared to dismiss the idea of carving out exceptions for countries.

In other words, the flexibility Trump espouses doesn’t seem so much a one-sided benevolence but a strategy to bend others’ wills.

We will probably not have any clarification on how the reciprocal tariffs will play out until April 2, the date Trump said they would begin — provided he isn’t similarly flexible with the start date.

‘Flexibility’ with tariffs: Trump
Trump told reporters Friday that “there’ll be flexibility” regarding his tariff plans, “but basically it’s reciprocal,” suggesting that he could act in response to any adjustments by trade partners. However, Trump downplayed the idea of granting more exceptions, saying that “once you do that for one, you have to do that for all.” The White House has said reciprocal tariffs go into effect April 2.

U.S. stocks break losing streak
Major U.S. indexes climbed on Friday to end a four-week losing streak. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 0.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.2%. But FedEx, a bellwether for the economy, tumbled 6.5% after cutting its earnings outlook. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index dropped 0.6%, weighed by a 1.6% fall in the travel and leisure sector after London’s Heathrow Airport closed Friday.

Mediocre Seven
Out of the Magnificent Seven group of stocks that led the stock market’s bull charge in 2024, six are already tracking for significant year-to-date losses, led by a 40% drop in shares of Tesla. Meta Platform is the only exception, holding on to a slim gain. Earlier this month, the megacaps lost more than $750 billion in market value in the worst day for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite since 2022.

AstraZeneca’s $2.5 billion investment in China
AstraZeneca on Friday said it will invest $2.5 billion in a research and development center in the Chinese capital Beijing, as part of a partnership with the city’s Municipal Government and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Administrative Office, AstraZeneca said. Under the deal, the British giant will collaborate with Chinese biotech firms Harbour BioMed and Syneron Bio to launch a joint venture with BioKangtai.

[PRO] Eyes on U.S. economic data
Investors should keep an eye on the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index for February, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, out Friday. Other economic data to watch for are PMI readings for March out Monday and final U.S. gross domestic product figures for the fourth quarter out Thursday. That said, it is unlike markets will march decisively until Trump makes his move.

Crypto’s long battle with SEC comes to a close with Ripple victory

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s years-long crusade against the crypto industry appears to be over, when Ripple announced that the SEC had officially dropped its four-year-old lawsuit against the company. The suit, filed on Jay Clayton’s last day as SEC chair, accused Ripple of raising $1.3 billion through the sale of its XRP token without registering it as a security.

On Friday, the SEC hosted its first major crypto roundtable, signaling a new approach of regulation through engagement, rather than enforcement. Leading the effort is Hester Peirce, who is helming the regulator’s newly established Crypto Task Force. Peirce’s message to the industry is that the SEC is no longer an adversary, but is instead trying to give crypto a clear, lawful framework.