Trump blasts China, Musk exits DOGE, inflation eases: Live Updates
Investors are winding down a volatile but winning week as President Trump’s trade war continues with China in the crosshairs, Elon Musk officially ends DOGE duties, U.S. Steel, Nippon Steel deal proceeds. FOX Business is providing real-time updates on the markets, commodities and all the most active stocks on the move.
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Elon Musk, who shook up the U.S. government as the head of DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency in efforts to cut waste, will end his tenure and return to his day job as CEO of Tesla and other entities. President Trump thanked Musk for his service in the Oval Office as Musk insisted the mission will continue.
"This is not the end of Doge, but really the beginning" he said. "I liken it to a sort of person of Buddhism. It's like a way of life, so it is permeating throughout the government. And I'm confident that over time, we'll see $1 trillion of savings, and a reduction in $1 trillion of waste, fraud reduction" Musk said.
Tesla shares have gained about 50% since April but remain lower year-to-date.
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. (Reuters)
Stocks closed mostly lower on Friday, the last trading session of May, after President Donald Trump said China violated tariff terms.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 54.34 points, or 0.13%, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.32%. The S&P 500 was flat.
Trump said on Friday that China had violated an agreement with the U.S. to mutually roll back tariffs and trade restrictions for critical minerals and issued a new veiled threat to get tougher with Beijing.
"China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!
Trump said that he made a "fast deal" in mid-May with Chinese officials for both countries to back away from triple-digit tariffs for 90 days. He said he did this to save China from a "devastating" situation, factory closings and civil unrest caused by his tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese imports.
Trump's message did not specify how China had violated the agreement made in Geneva, Switzerland, or what action he would take against Beijing.
Investors sold stocks Friday with the S&P 500, the broadest measure of the U.S. market, fell to the lowest level of the trading session early afternoon.
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| XLK | $228.21 | -3.42 | -1.48 |
| XLE | $81.28 | -0.98 | -1.19 |
| XLY | $212.85 | -2.12 | -0.99 |
| XLP | $82.77 | 0.66 | 0.80 |
| XLU | $81.44 | 0.35 | 0.43 |
Tech, energy and consumer discretionary names paced the decline, while consumer staples and utilities held onto modest gains.
President Donald Trump lashed out at China on Friday as trade war tensions heat up.
"Two weeks ago China was in grave economic danger! The very high Tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to TRADE into the United States marketplace which is, by far, number one in the World. We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them. Many factories closed and there was, to put it mildly, “civil unrest.” I saw what was happening and didn’t like it, for them, not for us. I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn’t want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!" he posted on Truth Social.
All three of the major U.S. averages fell with the tech heavy Nasdaq seeing the steeper declines of more than 1%.
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | $42,224.56 | 8.83 | 0.02 |
| SP500 | $5,895.65 | -16.52 | -0.28 |
| I:COMP | $19,032.89 | -,142.98 | -0.75 |
Shares of Best Buy held steady after the seller of electronic goods disclosed a big hit from President Trump's tariffs.
Year-to-date shares are down over 20%.
Musk, who will leave DOGE today, is setting Tesla up for its next stage of growth. In June, the electric-vehicle maker will officially roll out autonomous driving vehicles.
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | $355.63 | -2.80 | -0.78 |
"For the past several days, Tesla has been testing self-driving Model Y cars (no one in driver’s seat) on Austin public streets with no incidents.
A month ahead of schedule
Next month, first self-delivery from factory to customer" he posted on X.
Oil giant Chevron will layoff a handful of workers.
Shares have fallen over 5% this year as oil hovers in the low $60 level.
The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation eased in April, another sign prices are moderating.
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