fallout — and impact of inflation — from the president-elect's vow to impose hefty new tariffs on top US trading partners Mexico, Canada, and China. Hopes for a softening in that plan got a boost as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she's confident that a tariff war can be averted after a phone call with Trump. Elsewhere on the trade front, optimism grew that looming US curbs on China chips will be less tough than expected. ASML (ASML) and other European chip-related stocks rose after Bloomberg reported Thursday that the Biden administration is weighing fresh restrictions that would stop short of earlier proposals. Meanwhile, investors are keeping a watchful eye on Black Friday sales, the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season. Eyes are on how successful retailers will be at energizing Americans to buy in stores, given financially squeezed consumers have turned cautious on discretionary spending. Analysts are predicting a solid season, though not as robust as last year. Shares of Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT), and Best Buy (BBY) edged into the green in premarket trading. Yahoo Finance Morning Brief Sign up for the Yahoo Finance Morning