Sawt Falasteen - Wall Street stock rally falters as Trump touts 50% tariff victory

The pullback came after a three-day rally based in large part on hopes that the United States would reach trade deals with its major partners.

TIME Magazine wrote Friday that Trump said in an interview he was still convinced tariffs were necessary and that "he would consider it a 'total victory' if the US still has tariffs as high as 50 percent on foreign imports a year from now."

City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada called the comments "an aggressive reminder that underscores his protectionist trade agenda, even if he has promised to reduce tariffs on Beijing significantly".

He added that the comments "probably caused the mild selling" trend.

While the Trump administration has gone forward with 145-percent tariffs on most goods from China, it suspended high tariffs on other countries for three months as it pursues trade deals.

European markets were still higher in afternoon trading, while most Asian markets ended in positive territory.

Sentiment was boosted by reports on Friday that China may exempt some US goods from its hefty retaliatory tariffs.

"While tariffs are unlikely to go away completely, any easing of the trade war will be lapped up by financial markets," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Equity markets "are also benefitting from strong earnings reports," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.

"Google reported earnings that smashed expectations last night," she added.

Google-parent Alphabet posted earnings that exceeded expectations for the recently ended quarter, driven by its cloud computing and artificial intelligence operations.

Its shares opened around three percent higher.

In Europe, Paris and Frankfurt stocks rose in afternoon deals as investors brushed off comments from France's economy minister Eric Lombard that a trade deal between the United States and the European Union was a way off.

London's stock market edged higher following positive UK retail data.

In Asia, Tokyo jumped almost two percent by the close following Japanese media reports that a second round of trade talks in Washington was set for May 1.

The discussions will be closely watched as a barometer for efforts by other countries seeking tariff relief.

Chinese stock indices ended the week fairly steady, as China's top leaders urged more support for the economy and opposed "unilateral bullying" in global trade, according to a readout of a meeting published by state media Friday.

Seoul jumped one percent after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a trade "understanding" between South Korea and the United States could be reached by next week.

Investors are optimistic also that the US Federal Reserve may cut interest rates sooner than expected.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said during an interview with Bloomberg Television that he would support interest rate cuts if harsh tariffs hurt the jobs market.

The dollar made solid gains versus main rivals Friday, while crude prices dropped nearly one percent on fears that the OPEC oil cartel and its allies will step up production further.

- Key figures at 1330 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 40,042.60 points

New York - S&P 500: UP less than 0.1 percent at 5,489.93

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP less than 0.1 percent at 17,180.88

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,424.69

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 7,557.10

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 22,266.57

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.9 percent at 35,705.74 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 21,980.74 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,295.06 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1336 from $1.1392 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3315 from $1.3339

Dollar/yen: UP at 143.65 yen from 142.62 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.15 pence from 85.35 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.9 percent at $62.23 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.9 percent at $65.09 per barrel

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J.AbuShaban--SF-PST