Online retailer Temu — owned by PDD Holdings (PDD) — aims to raise prices amid tariffs, while Tesla (TSLA) raises its EV prices in Canada and Merck KGaA (MRK) seeks to acquire SpringWorks Therapeutics (SWTX) in a $3.9 billion deal.

Catalysts host Madison Mills and Ritholtz Wealth Management chief market strategist Callie Cox weigh in on these top stocks.

To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here.

Video Transcript

00:00 Speaker A

It's now time for some of today's trending tickers. This morning we're watching PDD, Tesla, and Merk KGA. First up, Pindo, the parent company of online retailer Temu. The Chinese retailer now passing on nearly all of President Trump's new import taxes to US consumers, more than doubling the cost of some products. Shipments of goods worth less than $800 were previously exempt from tariffs under the deminimis rule. They will now face a 120% tariff or a flat $100 fee per postal item starting on May 2nd. Cali Cox is still here with us to discuss. It's really interesting, Cali, when you take a look at the numbers here. Some of these items doubling in cost on Temu and also Pindudu competitor Shein having some items go up by as much as 377%. Obviously, these items were already very affordable. So these increases, the percent sounds higher than the end number is. But just wanted to get your take on how that impacts consumer sentiment when there are price hikes like that.

01:35 Cali Cox

Yeah, well, we're feeling it, right? This these reciprocal tariffs that we that markets have been freaking out for a while are finally making their way to our wallets. And I think that could be a shock for consumers, even though to a certain extent, consumers are expecting higher inflation. We see we've seen that in surveys for months now. You know, what I think what shocks me is hearing, you know, the Fed does this on-the-ground research. It's called the Beige Book. Uh, the Beige Book actually came out last week, but that was one of the first indications of data that we had on if companies are passing along tariffs. And it said many companies are planning to pass them along, which was a shock to me because I think consumer consumer's ability to take them on is a question mark right now.

02:52 Speaker A

It certainly is, and China seems more willing to put up with any economic challenges to their own consumers as well, which perhaps will impact negotiations moving forward. But we do want to get to Tesla raising prices in Canada and pushing its pre-tariff inventory as well. The automaker encouraging buyers in the country to purchase cars imported before Canada's reciprocal tariffs on US-made vehicles were imposed. You can see Tesla shares up along with the broader market right now, up nearly 1%. We were talking, Cali, about how exposed Tesla is to the impact of tariffs, and how are you thinking about both that and the broader auto sector's exposure?

03:44 Cali Cox

Well, automakers are one of the biggest industries exposed to global uh global suppliers. Tesla definitely up there. 80% of its suppliers are outside of the US, so that's something to watch, especially if you're a consumer discretionary investor. Tesla is a consumer discretionary stock. We think of it as a tech stock, but that's not what it is.

04:15 Speaker A

Mhm. Right, exactly. And and it's interesting to see when you have moves in consumer discretionary, you have to check to make sure whether or not it's Tesla or the entire basket because it's such a big chunk of it. We're also going to talk about German drug company Merk KGA agreed to buy US biotech firm SpringWorks Therapeutics for about $3.9 billion. The German company is saying the deal seeks to strengthen its health care segment and expand its presence in the US. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of this year. You can see those shares listed over in Denmark up 1.7%. Now, it's interesting, obviously, this is happening outside of the United States here, but I wonder how you're thinking about deal making more broadly because the trade war is impacting countries around the globe, and yet we're still seeing some news of deal making. How are you thinking about the kind of path forward for that?

05:22 Cali Cox

Yeah, every headline I get for deal making, I love to see it. It's a sign of business confidence, it's a sign that, you know, these interest rates are a little of course, this is global, right? But, you know, globally, you know, financing is a little bit easier to swallow. Deal making is a good sign in this environment. It's encouraging.

05:51 Speaker A

All right, Cali, thank you so much. And also for our audience, you can scan the QR code below to track the best and worst performing stocks with Yahoo Finance's trending ticker's page.  Related Videos

05:14

Riyadh Air CEO on Tariffs, Cabins, Orders, Deliveries

Bloomberg • 6 hours ago 02:10

Chinese Exporter Live-Streams to Offload Goods Stranded By U.S. Tariffs

WSJ • 4 hours ago 03:15

Next Major Move for US Stocks Is Lower: 3-Minute MLIV

Bloomberg • 7 hours ago 26:46

Can Buffett Bets Like Coke, Food Brands Recession-Proof Your Portfolio?

WSJ • yesterday

View Comments