Recently, President Trump proposed a potential 50% tariff on goods from the European Union, set to take effect on June 1, 2025, unless those goods are produced in the U.S. The announcement stirred up some concern about renewed trade tensions and what it could mean for global markets.
Not long after, Bessent stepped in to ease the fears, clarifying that the 90-day negotiation pause that began on April 2 was based on talks. He also pointed out that Trump believes the EU’s proposal is less favorable than those from other countries.
While all of this grabbed headlines, I personally don’t follow every twist and turn in trade policy. There are often new developments in the tariff situation and it’s difficult to keep up with all of them. Markets can rise or fall based on any one of them, and often reverse direction just as quickly.
Over time, I’ve found that focusing too much on headlines makes investing feel chaotic. So instead of trying to predict market reactions to macro news, I’ve started to rely more on a simpler, more grounded process when evaluating stocks.
What matters more to me are things like:
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Whether a stock is undervalued or overvalued
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Where the stock sits within its 52-week range
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The company’s historical financial performance and consistency
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Cash flow, debt levels, and operating margins
While I don’t ignore macro issues like tariffs—they do have an impact, especially on multinational firms and exporters—I don’t base my buy or sell decisions solely on those headlines. Tariff policies can shift, get delayed, renegotiated, or scrapped altogether. And reacting to every new development can lead to poor timing or emotional decisions.
Instead, I prefer to look at the underlying business. If the fundamentals make sense and the stock seems attractively priced, I’m more interested—regardless of what the current political news cycle looks like.
The market’s direction is uncertain, as always. Some think the S&P 500 could push toward 6000, while others expect a pullback. Personally, I don't spend much time trying to guess short-term market moves. I just try to stick to my process—finding companies I understand, at reasonable prices, and avoiding hype-driven decisions.
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