Market Talks covering the impact of U.S. Politics and White House policies on companies and markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.

2008 ET - President Trump's movie-tariff plan is sending shockwaves through the film industry in Australia, the location of movies such as "The Fall Guy," starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, and Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" biopic. Australian officials will urge the Trump administration to consider the benefits of American and Australian filmmakers working together, says Penny Wong, the country's foreign minister. "It's a good thing for us to be working together on films, and on entertainment," says Wong. "So, we obviously will be pressing our view about this to the U.S. Administration." Having Hollywood make movies Down Under is a big earner for the country and its A$5 billion film industry, she says. Wong welcomes Trump's remarks that he plans to meet with American industry representatives on tariffs soon. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

1807 ET - Mattel CFO Anthony DiSilvestro says on a call with analysts that tariffs will likely begin affecting the company during the third quarter. The maker of Hot Wheels cars and Uno playing cards expects to incur about $270 million in tariff-related costs this year under the current levy structure. This estimate doesn't include planned mitigation efforts, such as price increases and moving more of its production out of China, DiSilvestro adds. The recent quarter, in which Mattel logged higher sales and a wider loss, didn't include any tariff impacts. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

1705 ET - Mattel will continue to reduce its exposure to China, while also planning to raise prices on American toys "where necessary," in an effort to counter sweeping tariffs on other countries from which the company sources its toys. These actions are expected to fully offset the potential costs of levies on future quarters, the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels says. It is unclear, though, how these actions will affect consumers. "It remains to be seen how consumer demand will hold up for the remainder of the year, given the impact of tariffs on pricing and discretionary spending," CEO Ynon Kreiz says. Mattel pulls its 2025 outlook, prompting shares to fall 2.5% in late trading. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

1646 ET - The Canadian dollar is trading at its richest valuation in about seven years, or roughly 9 cents above its fundamental value, according to strategists at National Bank Financial. The firm partly attributes CAD's strengthening to the country being "relatively spared" from sweeping U.S. tariffs, given Canada's participation in the USMCA trade pact. NBF notes speculators are giving Prime Minister Mark Carney "the benefit of the doubt," judging by a reduction in net short positions. This suggests traders anticipate successful negotiations between Ottawa and Washington on a new economic pact. Carney and President Trump meet Tuesday in the White House. NBF expects USDCAD to rise to C$1.42 from its current C$1.38 level by the end of 2Q, and then settle in at C$1.35 by mid-2025. (paul.vieira@wsj.com; @paulvieira)

1422 ET - Gold futures finish higher, with the front-month contract closing up 2.5% to $3,311.30 a troy ounce. It's the second consecutive winning session for gold, and a stark departure from weakness seen in other commodity categories such as agriculture and energy. In addition to uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision and President Trump's tariff negotiations, Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities says in a note that geopolitical concerns in Israel and Ukraine helped support gold. Cardillo adds that while gold may consolidate near-term, over the long- term it might find new highs. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1402 ET - Commodities mostly fall to start the week, as traders await the Fed rate decision. Underlying that is a growing feeling that markets wants to see proof of the nearly completed trade deals hyped by President Trump and officials within his cabinet -- at least some indication that progress is being made. "The president needs solid trade deals soon to keep momentum on his side," Arlan Suderman of StoneX says in a note. Energy and agricultural futures have dropped today, while precious metals rose and some industrial metals like copper also climbed. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1247 ET - ON Semiconductor's 1Q sales to the industrial market were more favorable than expected, falling 4% sequentially, Chief Financial Officer Thad Trent says on a call with analysts. The industrial sector is showing signs of recovery, Trent says, although some pockets are still down. "There is uncertainty given the tariff situation, but there's some early signs of stabilization, which gives us hope," Trent says. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1245 ET - ON Semiconductor says it doesn't see a direct impact from tariffs at the moment, but remains cautious about its exposure to the automotive industry. Automotive and industrial sales accounted for 80% of ON Semiconductor's 1Q revenue, and automotive revenue decreased 26%. Chief Executive Hassane El-Khoury says on a call with analysts that the company has particular exposure to the EV market, adding that EV demand outside of China has not seen a recovery. When asked about headwinds from auto tariffs, El-Khoury says, "There could be indirect impact, but that is a time-based question, which I don't have an answer to. The best thing I can give you is our cautiousness in the guide and our outlook." (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1206 ET - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appealed to investors, saying that President Trump had been planting the seeds for what he called a new golden age. "We have planted the seeds of private investment, and we have fertilized the ground with fresh tax legislation. Next, we harvest; and we want you to harvest with us," Bessent said at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Calif. (maria.armental@wsj.com; @mjarmental)

1122 ET - Cineplex has a solid box office line up, but President Trump's latest movie-centered tariff threats sow doubt into a sector in recovery. TD Cowen's Derek Lessard says the strong weekend box office performance was slightly tempered by Trump's late-Sunday Hollywood tariff that would slap a 100% duty on all movies produced outside the U.S. Lessard says it's still early to assess the scope consequences, especially considering complexities around streaming distribution, movies filmed partially abroad, for example. There would be a snowball effect across the industry. Lessard says the tariff could lead to higher film costs charged to theaters, higher ticket prices which would lower demand, reduce production volume, and potentially delay film slates. "We think there could be negative implications in the longer term," he says. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1121 ET - Cummins suspends its guidance for 2025, citing uncertainty about the engine maker's exposure to tariffs. The company faces tariff costs on imported components used to make engines in U.S factories, but also potentially falling demand for its engines if the U.S. economy weakens in the second half of the year. "To the extent that we incur tariffs we're going to pass those on," CFO Mark Smith tells analysts during a conference call. "The bigger concern is the broader impact on the overall economic environment." Shares up 2% at $306.64. (Robert.tita@wsj.com)

1018 ET - President Trump's proposed 100% tariff on overseas movie production would be a devastating attack on the U.S. entertainment industry, Benchmark analyst Matthew Harrigan says in a research note. Trump's suggestion "injects further noise into sentiment for essentially every entertainment stock," the analyst says. But, Harrigan is skeptical that a 100% tariff or any tariff will be implemented. He says a more rational approach to address the harms that production offshoring inflicts on blue-collar entertainment industry employees would be to institute a federal tax incentive to retain production within the U.S. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2025 20:08 ET (00:08 GMT)

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