Surprised If China Tariffs Don’t Change: Stephen Miran

Stephen Miran, who chairs the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, says the April jobs report shows that the "hard data" continues to be OK and points out this data came in after President Donald Trump put sweeping tariffs in place. He also expects Trump to reach a new trade deal with China, but adds he's not part of negotiations.

“I would be surprised if tariff rates are where they are now, you know, within a few weeks from now,” Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran tells Bloomberg TV, when asked about a timeline for a trade deal with China. 

“It’s in the interest of both economies to lower the temperature, to create breathing space to continue talking, to figure out how we can get to a new stable equilibrium on trade,” he says 
“A little bit of de escalation will be quite helpful”

Miran says a new tax deal will help create an economy that attracts more capital investment. He is on "Bloomberg Surveillance."

US stocks rose Friday, putting the S&P 500 Index on track for ninth day of gains that would erase all of the losses suffered after President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement last month.

The S&P 500 rose 1.2% as of 9:33 a.m. in New York, and traded above the 5,670.97 level on April 2, when Trump triggered a slump by unveiling sweeping tariffs against major trading partners. The Nasdaq 100 gained 1.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 1.2%.

“Markets have shrugged off their self-inflicted tariff wounds as investors trade chaos for clarity, pricing in the idea that deals, even with pain, beats policy uncertainty even without specifics,” said Dave Mazza, chief executive officer at Roundhill Financial. 

The latest economic data showed buoyant hiring in April, providing evidence of resilience in an economy beset by trade pressures.

The US economy added 177,000 jobs last month, higher than the 138,000 gain expected by economists and a sign the labor market remains healthy. The jobless rate held at 4.2%.
“On one hand, resilient labor market makes the case for a cut harder, but it also says that job losses aren’t coming as quickly as feared and gives clarity that worst case fears can be pushed out,” Mazza addded. 

Elsewhere, Magnificent Seven stocks were mixed in premarket trading after reports from Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. Apple fell 4.56% as sales from China declined more than anticipated in the latest quarter, overshadowing otherwise solid results for the iPhone maker. Amazon gave a weaker-than-expected forecast for operating profit in the current quarter, pointing toward tariffs and trade policies that may cause consumers to pull back on spending. The stock is down 0.676%.

Among other single-stock movers, Chevron Corp. was down 1.01%after announcing a reduction of share buybacks this quarter after oil prices tumbled, indicating that President Donald Trump’s trade war is hurting a key US industry he pledged to help. Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil Corp. met earnings estimates thanks to higher production from low-cost projects such as Guyana and the Permian that allow the oil giant to maintain its share buybacks despite the recent drop in crude prices. 

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. pushed back the release of Grand Theft Auto VI to next year, giving the team more time to finish what’s expected to be one of the most lucrative video games ever. The shares tumbled 7.52%.

US-listed Chinese stocks rose as Beijing said it is assessing the possibility of trade talks with the US, the first sign since Donald Trump hiked tariffs last month that negotiations could begin between the two sides.

China has quietly started to exempt some US goods from tariffs that likely cover around $40 billion worth of imports with a list of exempted US products covering 131 items like pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals has been circulating among traders and businesses over the past week. 

Risk-on sentiment sent the S&P 500 up 0.5% Thursday to close above its 50-day moving average for the first time since February. A nine-day advance would mark the longest winning streak for the S&P 500 since 2004. 

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