Amazon stock recovers following tariff scuffle with Trump White House

AMZN shares recover in light of tariff listing denial.
CNN claims Donald Trump called Bezos to complain about tariff policy.
Amazon claims that publishing tariffs separately from product costs was never considered on the main website.
Evercore ISI argues that Amazon will prioritize holding onto market share in light of tariffs.

Clay Webster FXStreet

Amazon (AMZN) stock has recovered nearly all of its sell-off on Tuesday after the Trump administration grew irate over an article reporting that the online retailer was planning on specifying tariff costs separately on its marketplace. Amazon has denied the story, which was first reported by Punchbowl News, by around lunchtime.

A Trump spokesperson said she had discussed the article with Trump and called it a "hostile and political act". Then CNN reported that Trump had personally called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to complain about the policy. Bezos has long since retired after handing the reins to CEO Andy Jassy, but it appears that the phone call worked.

By the afternoon, Amazon was telling reporters that listing tariff costs for consumers was considered by Amazon subsidiary Amazon Haul, which directly competes with China's Temu, but never for the main website.

The news had sent AMZN stock down more than 2% at the open on Tuesday, but the stock recovered to near even at $187.54 by the close. Amazon sources a significant proportion of its goods from factories in China that are mostly subject to the Trump administration's 145% tariff.

For its part, Evercore ISI's head of internet research, Mark Mahaney, used the news merry-go-round to seize on a point. Amazon will need to eat the tariffs and lose operating margin or else lose market share, according to Mahaney.

Mahaney argued in his client note that Amazon will prioritize market share and thus faces tightening margins if the tariffs stay in place.

Amazon reports earnings on Thursday for the first quarter, and Wall Street is expecting adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.36 on revenue of $155.1 billion.

AMZN daily stock chart

Author

Clay Webster

FXStreet

Clay Webster grew up in the US outside Buffalo, New York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He began investing after college following the 2008 financial crisis.

GBP/USD advances to three-month peak beyond 1.3600

GBP/USD extends its daily rally and trades at its highest level since mid-May above 1.3600. The US Treasury Department decision to double the sice of liquidity support buyback operations for longer-dated nominal coupon securitiez weighs heavily on the US Dollar and helps the pair push higher. Earlier in the day, the data from the UK showed that annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation picked up to 2.9% in July, meeting estimates, while core CPI rose by 2.6% YoY in July versus 2.5% expected.

EUR/USD surges to 11-week high above 1.1650 after US Treasury announcement

EUR/USD gathers bullish momentum and trades at its highest level since early June above 1.1650 on Wednesday. The US Dollar stays under heavy bearish pressure after the US Treasury announced that it will increase the size of liquidity support buyback operations for longer-dated nominal coupon securities. Later in the day, investors will scrutinize FOMC Minutes for fresh clues on policy outlook.

Gold pulls back from 11-week highs, battles $4,500

Gold eases from its highest level since early June, battling $4,500 in the Asian session on Thursday. The US Dollar draws some support from the US-Iran standoff and hawkish FOMC Minutes, capping the upside for the bullion. Gold short through the roof on Wednesday after the US Treasury Department stepped in to provide relief to bond markets, leading to a sharp decline in yields and boosting the non-yielding yellow metal.

HYPE soars 20% as Trump signals efforts to bring Hyperliquid to US market in White House meeting

Hyperliquid surged over 20% on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is working to bring the decentralized perpetual futures platform into the US.

$20 billion offered, $2 billion taken: Why Treasury doubled its buyback cap

The US Treasury moved off its own calendar on Wednesday, and that is the part worth sitting with. At 12:32 GMT, the department said it would at least double the size of liquidity support buyback operations in the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors, lifting the maximum from $2 billion per operation to at least $4 billion, effective September 9 and running to November 4.

Why is Crude Oil priced for a reopening the ships haven't made?

Fourteen vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Before the war, the count ran near 120 a day. In the sessions since the waterway was publicly declared open, Brent has drifted back to $87 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to $81, both a little lower again on Wednesday, with daily momentum on each unwound from the top of its range in late July to the low twenties now.