Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
President Donald Trump has a mandate for chipmakers: Manufacture domestically, or pay a hefty price. Trump said Wednesday that he would slap 100% tariffs on imported semiconductors and chips. But for those manufacturing in the U.S., he said, “there will be no charge.” Still, stock futures rose Thursday morning as investors were encouraged by the policy’s broad exemptions. The latest trade announcement comes as Trump’s long-awaited plan for reciprocal tariffs takes effect Thursday. Follow live market updates here.
, meanwhile, got a warm reception at the White House on Wednesday. Apple CEO Tim Cook, standing alongside Trump in the Oval Office, unveiled plans for his company to spend $100 billion on U.S. firms and suppliers over the next four years. That’s in addition to a $500 billion investment Apple announced in February. Apple will shell out $2.5 billion for an expansion that will allow glass for iPhones and Apple Watches to be made at Corning’s U.S. facilities. To mark the occasion, Cook gifted Trump with a souvenir based around Corning’s glass. Shares of Apple jumped 5% in Wednesday’s session ahead of the event, marking it the stock’s best day in almost three months. Elsewhere at the intersection of tech and government, OpenAI said it would give its ChatGPT enterprise product to U.S. federal agencies for just $1 — no, that’s not a typo — through the next year.
