The S&P 500 and Nasdaq stock indexes in the US closed at their highest levels ever on Friday, writes MarketWire.

The two major US stock indexes, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, reached their highest levels ever at the close of trading in New York on Friday, writes MarketWire. The S&P 500 ended at 6,173.07, while the Nasdaq rose to 20,273.46.

Stocks are doing well at the moment despite unrest in the Middle East and Donald Trump’s tariff talk. The index, which consists of 500 large American companies – including Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon – had its worst start to a presidential term in April under President Donald Trump since 1974. But now the calm seems to have hit the stock market.

“It’s an impressive comeback that we’ve seen American stocks deliver in recent months,” said Sampension’s head of equities Philip Jagd a few hours before the stock market closed on Friday.

“In the wake of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ at the beginning of April, they plunged significantly, and at one point the shares were down 15 percent for the year. But since then, the arrow has pointed up for US stocks, which have now reached new heights.”

Donald Trump’s changing statements about higher tariffs on goods from other countries have led many economists to fear a global recession. A recession describes a period of economic decline.

With higher tariffs, Trump wants to force foreign companies to produce their goods in the United States and create American jobs. Tariffs are import taxes that are imposed on goods produced abroad. The intention of the tariffs is that Americans will instead buy domestic products and thus strengthen the country’s own economy.

With higher tariffs, Donald Trump will also force foreign companies to produce their goods in the United States and create American jobs.

“At some point in the next few weeks, we will be sending a letter to a number of countries telling them what they have to pay,” Trump said at a press conference at the White House on Friday evening Danish time.

New life in customs war

Earlier Friday evening, Trump wrote on his social media that the United States is “immediately” breaking off all trade negotiations with Canada. He justified this by saying that Canada has introduced a tax on digital services that will hit American companies:

“They are clearly copying the EU, which has done the same thing and is also negotiating with us right now.”

Therefore, “ALL” negotiations are now stopped, the president added.

“We will let Canada know what tariff they will have to pay to trade with the United States within the next seven days.”

On Friday, he also said, according to Reuters, that July 9, when the tariff break for the EU expires, is not a fixed deadline.

“We can do whatever we want. We can extend it. We can shorten it. I would like to make it shorter,” Trump said at a press conference at the White House.

“I would like to send a letter to everyone: Congratulations, now you pay 25 percent,” he says.

On Thursday evening, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that the European Commission has received a new negotiating proposal from the United States in the negotiations on tariffs:

“We are assessing the situation as we speak. Our message is clear: the EU is ready to reach an agreement, but not at any price.”

She did not immediately reveal what the American proposal contains. The proposal comes after Europe has long been frustrated by the lack of clarity about the American position in the negotiations. Despite the new proposal, Ursula von der Leyen will not close the door on the EU being forced to impose counter-tariffs on American goods if an agreement is not reached before Trump’s tariff break expires on July 9.

Ritzau