U.S. stocks ended mixed on Tuesday, as investors weighed escalating trade threats from U.S. President Donald Trump against bullish revisions to Wall Street's outlook for the rest of the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 165.60 points, or 0.37 percent, to 44,240.76. The Standard and Poor's 500 sank 4.46 points, or 0.07 percent, to 6,225.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 5.95 points, or 0.03 percent, to 20,418.46.
Six of the 11 primary Standard and Poor's 500 sectors ended in red, with consumer staples and utilities leading the laggards by losing 1.09 percent and 1.07 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and materials led the gainers by rising 2.72 percent and 0.53 percent, respectively.
Trump reiterated his Aug. 1 deadline for finalizing trade deals, writing in a Truth Social post that "no extensions will be granted." At a Cabinet meeting later in the day, he announced a 50-percent tariff on copper imports, sending copper prices surging 13 percent to a record high. He also floated potential tariffs as high as 200 percent on pharmaceuticals and said he might notify the European Union within two days of new penalties if a deal is not reached.
Trump's aggressive tone came on the heels of letters sent Monday to 14 mostly Asian countries outlining duties scheduled to take effect next month. Despite the tough rhetoric, market reaction was relatively muted.
In contrast to trade concerns, two major investment banks boosted their year-end Standard and Poor's 500 targets. Bank of America raised its target to 6,300, citing solid corporate earnings and resilient consumer spending. Goldman Sachs lifted its forecast to 6,600 from 6,100, although chief U.S. equity strategist David Kostin warned that the recent tech-driven rally has narrowed market breadth to its lowest level since 2023.
In equity moves, major technology shares were mixed. Tesla rose 1.32 percent as the stock rebounded from Monday's drop following news that Tesla CEO Elon Musk launched a new political party. Meta Platforms and Apple inched higher, while Microsoft and Broadcom edged slightly lower. Amazon declined more than 1 percent despite kicking off its Prime Day sales event, and Alphabet also slipped about 1 percent. Nvidia was up 1.11 percent after it got a price target bump from Citi on 'Sovereign AI' demand surge.
U.S. stocks close mixed amid tariff uncertainty
From cutting-edge technology exhibitions to retail stores thousands of kilometers away from Europe and Southeast Asia, China-made robot vacuum cleaners are increasingly becoming a popular choice among consumers worldwide.
At electronics retailers in Berlin, Germany, Chinese brands such as Roborock and Dreame occupy prominent positions in dedicated robot vacuum sections, offering a wide range of products priced between 200 and 2,000 euros.
Many local consumers said that when purchasing smart home appliances including robot vacuum cleaners, they tend to give priority to Chinese-made products.
"It's a good price and good quality. It's also the innovation. I have a feeling that the European brands are not innovating enough," said one customer.
"I think they're always on top of the other technologies. They are getting them out faster. A lot of us are switching to the Chinese technology," another consumer said.
Germany is one of the most important overseas markets for China's floor-cleaning robots.
According to data from market research firm GfK, from January to November 2025, more than six out of 10 robot vacuum cleaners sold in Western Europe were Chinese brands.
Industry data also point to a strong global momentum.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), global shipments of smart robot vacuum cleaners reached 17.424 million units in the first three quarters of 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.7 percent.
Chinese brands including Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Xiaomi and Narwal ranked among the world's top five in terms of shipment volume, with a combined share of nearly 70 percent of the global market.
At a robot vacuum cleaner manufacturing plant in Huizhou, south China's Guangdong Province, workers were seen stepping up production of newly launched models that recently debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in the United States, which concluded Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The factory adjusted its production lines as early as December 2025 and stocked inventory in advance for overseas markets to ensure that new products could be delivered to global consumers at the earliest possible time.
"In 2025, Roborock's global shipments exceeded 7.2 million units. Since 2024, overseas revenue has accounted for more than 50 percent of our total revenue. Our products have now been sold to more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than 20 million households worldwide," said Quan Gang, president of Roborock.
At another robot vacuum cleaner manufacturing facility in Dongguan, Guangdong, rising overseas orders have prompted the company to upgrade its production lines with intelligent technologies to further boost capacity. The factory is currently operating at full load to meet a growing demand.
"For 2026, we have already obtained overseas orders worth at least 300 million to 400 million yuan (around 43 million to 57.3 million U.S. dollars). In addition, we've engaged in strategic cooperation with European home appliance group Cebos Group, and our total confirmed orders have exceeded 600 million yuan (around 86 million U.S. dollars)," said Zhang Junbin, founder and CEO of Narwal Robotics.
Chinese robot vacuum brands gain strong global traction
