Fed Policymakers Raise Concerns Over Tariffs Amid Market Calm
U.S. Federal Reserve officials express concerns about tariffs affecting inflation and the economy. Despite this, U.S. stocks rose, led by Nvidia, while Qualcomm and Huawei reported significant financial results.
U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers are expressing concerns about the potential impact of tariffs on the economy. Recent comments from Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Boston Fed President Susan Collins suggest that tariffs could seriously affect inflation and the overall U.S. economy, marking a change from the Fed's usual reticence regarding fiscal policy.
Despite concerns, U.S. stocks have shown resilience, with the S&P 500 up 0.39%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increasing by 0.71%, and the Nasdaq Composite rising by 0.19% in recent trading. Notably, a significant rebound in Nvidia helped offset declines in companies like Google and AMD. Additionally, Asia-Pacific markets experienced a mostly positive trend, while India's Nifty 50 index decreased by about 0.4% in anticipation of a rate cut decision.
In technology news, Google launched Gemini 2.0, a new suite of artificial intelligence models designed to handle complex tasks autonomously. This move aligns Google with competitors like Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic, who are also investing in agentic AI.
Meanwhile, Huawei reported a revenue increase of over 860 billion yuan ($118.27 billion) for 2024, marking a 22% year-on-year growth, the fastest since 2016. The company also overtook Apple in market share for smartphone shipments in mainland China.
Qualcomm also reported a fiscal first-quarter revenue of $11.67 billion, an 18% increase from the previous year. Despite beating expectations, Qualcomm’s shares fell over 4.6% in extended trading due to concerns about its licensing revenue.
Lastly, Palantir's shares soared by 24% following their stronger-than-expected fourth quarter results, but some analysts suggest that the company's valuation may not be sustainable given market fundamentals.
