Tariffs are back on the list of concerns for global stock markets as the White House brings in a new swathe of levies to replace temporary measures which had just expired.
The Trump administration was always likely to look for another route to introduce a new round of tariffs after the ruling in February from the Supreme Court that the previous set were illegal.
But, while the outcome won’t come as a complete shock to markets, it is nonetheless another unwelcome source of uncertainty as sentiment is buffeted by the renewed conflict between the US and Iran and concerns about levels of expenditure in the tech sector.
Big spending at Alphabet and Tesla announced alongside their second-quarter numbers helped drag shares lower on Wall Street.
Brent crude oil is firmly back in alarm bell territory having breached the $100 per barrel level, with seemingly little prospect of tensions easing in the Middle East in the short term.
These factors led to a wave of selling in the US and Asia, with Asian markets particularly sensitive to disruption to trade and rising energy prices.
The FTSE 100 has held up much better than many of its global counterparts this week, thanks to its collection of stodgier names and limited tech exposure, and it again demonstrated some durability on Friday.
RELX shares continued to advance after yesterday’s results, which reassured investors on some of their concerns about the capacity for AI to disrupt the business.
Intel
A year ago Intel looked a rather moribund business which had been left behind by more dynamic peers in the chipmaking space. However, the latest quarterly numbers reflect its transformation in the interim as it posts its fastest growth in 15 years to comfortably beat market expectations.
Backing from the Trump administration, as it looks to build the company up as an alternative manufacturer of chips to dominant player Taiwan Semiconductor Company (TSMC), and an investment from AI chip leader Nvidia have helped support this reversal in fortunes. Another dynamic behind Intel’s improved performance is the extension in the list of AI beneficiaries to now encompass Central Processing unit (CPUs), the brain handling logic in computers and laptops.
Nvidia was the standout beneficiary in the race to develop large language models because its Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) chips, which were originally designed for gaming, proved to be faster and more adaptable for training generative AI.
As the industry pivots towards inference and AI applications, from training and learning, demand for CPUs is starting to ramp up. Intel is not immune to the mounting concerns about the scale, pace and direction of AI spending but these numbers will certainly do its credibility with the market no harm.
Volkswagen
The extent to which Western carmakers are being squeezed out of the Chinese car market by domestic operators is laid bare by Volkswagen’s latest update.
The shares have been stuck in reverse for much of 2026 already, helping to explain why shifting from a forecast to 3% revenue growth to a 3% revenue decline saw a muted reaction from investors. The reversal was largely attributed to weak Chinese sales.
The figures for the second quarter were mixed with revenue actually slightly ahead of forecasts but profit coming in materially below what had been pencilled in.
After nearly four years at the wheel as CEO, Oliver Blume is likely to come under increasing pressure. His plan to steer Volkswagen back on to a growth path involves drastically cutting costs, including by slashing the company’s headcount.
There are also plans to reduce the number of models and sell-off non-core assets to make Volkswagen a more efficient machine. Pushing these through may be difficult given likely opposition from unions and whether they are enough to win over the market is an open question.
HSBC
Changing the course of a supertanker of a business like HSBC is not an easy task but that certainly isn’t preventing CEO Georges Elhedery from giving it a good go.
The agreement to sell its Singapore insurance business for $2.1 billion is just the latest move from Elhedery who has already shut down investment banking operations in the US and Europe and exited some other markets.
These strategic moves are intended to lean into HSBC’s strengths and make it a more streamlined and focused business.
This latest move received a cautious thumbs up from investors and so far in 2026, shares in HSBC are up nearly 30%, suggesting the market is on board with Elhedery’s plan.
Russ Mould: Investment Director
Russ Mould is AJ Bell's Investment Director. He has a Master's degree in Modern History from the University of Oxford and more than 30 years' experience of the capital markets.
He started out at Scottish...
