<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The company makes equipment used in cutting edge semiconductors and one of its key customers is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., or TSMC, a major supplier for Nvidia.<\/p>\n \u201cThe level of uncertainty is increasing, mostly due to macroeconomic and geopolitical consideration. And that includes, of course, tariffs,\u201d CEO Christophe Fouquet said.<\/p>\n United Airlines posts its most recent quarterly results after the bell Wednesday.<\/p>\n Also coming Wednesday is the government\u2019s report on producer prices, which measures inflation at the wholesale level.<\/p>\n A report on Tuesday showed that consumer inflation in the United States accelerated to 2.7% last month<\/a> from 2.4% in May. Economists said higher prices for clothes, toys and other imported goods suggest that Trump\u2019s stiffer tariffs are fueling inflation. That sticky inflation could mean that the Federal Reserve will hold its ground on interest rates, which have remained elevated in recent years after red-hot demand and supply chain breakdowns in the wake of the pandemic sent prices for just about everything skyrocketing.<\/p>\n Wall Street loves lower interest rates because they juice prices higher for stocks and other investments, and Trump himself has been clamoring <\/a> for the Federal Reserve to cut rates more quickly. But the Fed has been keeping interest rates on hold this year since lower rates can give inflation more fuel while they boost the economy. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has insisted<\/a> he wants to see more data about how tariffs affect the economy and inflation. <\/p>\n Elsewhere, in Europe at midday Germany\u2019s DAX rose 0.4%, while Britain\u2019s FTSE 100 gained 0.3%. The CAC 40 in Paris was unchanged.<\/p>\n In Asian trading, Tokyo\u2019s Nikkei 225 edged less than 0.1% lower, to 39,663.40. Investors are focusing on the potential impact of an election<\/a> for the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday that is expected to lead to tax cuts and higher spending as lawmakers try to restore the waning popularity of the ruling Liberal Democrats.<\/p>\n Worries over a deterioration in Japan\u2019s fiscal health have pushed yields of long-term Japanese government bonds to their highest levels in years. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s at stake isn\u2019t simply which party hands out the biggest bundle of goodies. It\u2019s whether the walls holding up Japan\u2019s house of debt can withstand another round of fiscal fireworks\u2026\u201d Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. <\/p>\n Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng shed 0.3% to 24,517.76, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped less than 0.1% to 3,503.78.<\/p>\n South Korea\u2019s Kospi lost 0.9% to 3,186.38 and in Australia, the S&P\/ASX 200 declined 0.8% to 8,561.80.<\/p>\n Taiwan\u2019s Taiex jumped 0.9% and India\u2019s Sensex added 0.2%. Thailand\u2019s SET dropped 0.3%. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n