CNBC Daily Open: U.S. consumers are starting to feel the pinch of Trump tariffs

Tariffs unleashed — and temporarily, almost capriciously, paused — by U.S. President Donald Trump have given governments across the world a headache as they figure out how to minimize disruptions to their economies. But the U.S. consumer, ironically, could be the real victim of tariffs.

During the weekend, Temu, a Chinese e-tailer known for offering wallet-friendly items, hiked prices, citing “import charges.” Analysis by CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge and Annie Palmer found that those fees can cost more than the items themselves and eventually double the price of a typical order.

Something worse than price increases is when daily necessities are unavailable for purchase. Some U.S. stores could see empty shelves in a few weeks as the impact of tariffs on China begins filtering into the economy, according to asset management firm Apollo.

It’s true that China exports far more to the U.S. than it imports from the country, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed out. But the implication of that trade relationship is that the U.S. consumer has more to lose when China’s exports slow to a trickle.

Stocks globally register mild rises
U.S. stocks traded mixed Monday. The S&P 500 was up a marginal 0.06% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28%. The Nasdaq Composite, however, slipped 0.1%. Asia-Pacific markets mostly inched up Tuesday. South Korea’s Kospi index added roughly 0.4%. The country’s auto stocks rose on news that the Trump administration will reduce some import duties for automakers.

European banks beat estimates
HSBC announced on Tuesday first-quarter results that beat expectations. Profit before tax of Europe’s largest lender soared nearly 317% from the previous quarter to $9.48 billion. HSBC also announced a $3 billion share buyback. Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC rose 1.7%. The same day, Deutsche Bank posted a better-than-expected net profit of 1.775 billion euros ($2.019 billion) for its first quarter. The figure is 39% higher than the same period a year earlier and the bank’s “best quarterly profit for fourteen years,” said Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing.

China-U.S. trade war still simmering
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press conference Monday that Beijing isn’t in talks with the U.S. over a tariff deal, and he isn’t aware of Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking with U.S. President Donald Trump, contrary to what the latter has claimed. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday told CNBC that “it’s up to China to de-escalate, because they sell five times more to us than we sell to them.”

Tariffs drive Temu to hikes prices
Chinese e-tailer Temu has started adding “import charges” of about 145% in response to Trump tariffs. The fees, which apply to U.S. customers and kicked in the weekend after price hikes went into effect on Friday, could be higher than a product’s cost. “Items imported into the U.S. may be subject to import charges,” Temu wrote on its website. 

$150 billion investment by IBM
IBM on Monday announced it will invest $150 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, including more than $30 billion to advance American manufacturing of its mainframe and quantum computers. Separately, Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote Monday that the U.S. “cannot afford to fall behind” China in the race to design and manufacture a working quantum computer.

Canada’s Liberal Party projected to win election
Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party is projected to win the country’s national election, although it is too early to determine if the party will garner enough seats to form a majority government, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. That means Carney will remain as prime minister of the country. The victory of the Liberals in the polls is due, in part, to Trump’s aggressive rhetoric toward Canada, which caused public sentiment of the Conservative Party to dip.

[PRO] Earnings expectations this week
The busiest week of the earnings season is here — more than 160 S&P 500 constituents are slated to report, including Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft. Investors will be looking for guidance on how tariffs could impact those companies’ bottom lines. Take a look at CNBC Pro’s breakdown of what’s expected from this week’s key reports.

The worst (and best) stocks during Trump’s tough first 100 days

Some stocks have made major swings in the days since Trump returned to the White House.

He has put U.S. investors on alert with market-moving plans such as tariffs and federal government spending cuts. The S&P 500 is slated to record its worst first 100 days of a presidency since Richard Nixon’s second tenure in the 1970s.

Underneath the hood, some names are seeing outsized moves. CNBC screened the S&P 500 to see which stocks have performed the best and worst since Trump came back to the Oval Office in January.