4:15pm: Wall Street rebounds
The Nasdaq surged 1.4% or 262 points to close at 19,654 on Tuesday, leading gains among major U.S. stock indexes.
The S&P 500 also posted solid gains, rising 0.7% or 43 points to end the session at 6,038. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3% or 134 points, finishing at 44,556.
Tuesday's rally came as investors shook off concerns about President Trump's trade policies that had sparked Monday's decline. Markets were relieved by Trump's decision to delay planned tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods for 30 days, which helped ease trade tensions.
Tech stocks led the day's gains, with Palantir Technologies surging over 23% after reporting strong quarterly results and an optimistic outlook driven by AI-related demand.
However, some companies faced pressure following earnings reports. Merck shares dropped 8% after issuing a disappointing forecast, while Pfizer gained 2% on its latest results.
As trading concluded, market participants turned their attention to upcoming earnings reports from major tech firms like Alphabet, scheduled to release results after Tuesday's close.
3:40pm: Alphabet on deck
Google parent Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) should be able to deliver pretty good fourth-quarter results when it turns them in this afternoon.
Analysts at Jefferies said they see "solid" Q4 results as likely on the basis that estimated look "appropriately conservative" versus past seasonality and given slightly tougher comparative results from 2023.
Shares in the search giant, which also owns YouTube, Gmail, Waymo, Fitbit and Waze, among other businesses, are expected to "grind higher" despite their 18% gain since Q3 earning outdoing peers Microsoft and Meta.
Shares of Alphabet were trading 2.1% higher on Tuesday.
1:40pm: Tariffs situation remains fluid
investors should be prepared for the possibility of additional tariff announcements, according to Kristian Kerr, Head of Macro Strategy for LPL Financial.
"This overall move to implement tariffs marks a clear shift in US trade policy, as the new administration now aims to more directly address trade imbalances and strengthen domestic industries by imposing higher duties on these key trading partners," Kerr commented on Tuesday.
"The current situation remains fluid, and looking ahead, investors should be prepared for the possibility of additional tariff announcements.
"There is also speculation that these tariff announcements may all just be part of a broader strategy to negotiate key diplomatic objectives and will only prove to be short-lived."
12:45pm: Markets shake off trade fears
The Nasdaq is leading the way in midday trading, up 0.9% as tech stocks continue to show strength.
The S&P 500 is also in positive territory, gaining 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up a modest 0.1%.
The market appears to be shaking off recent concerns about potential trade wars, with investors focusing instead on strong corporate earnings and economic data.
11:00am: Palantir surges
Palantir is starting off the year as 2025's stock to watch.
The US software firm beat revenue expectations by 36%, with US sales rising over 60% YoY, driven by strong AI demand.
Future revenue forecasts also exceeded estimates. Shares surged 23% on Tuesday, highlighting how stock markets are being influenced by individual factors rather than moving in unison, according to XTB's Kathleen Brooks.
"Palantir is an AI company, but it may be more resilient to DeepSeek compared to others, like Nvidia," Brooks wrote.
"This is because its biggest customers include the US defense service and the US intelligence service, which are unlikely to switch to Chinese software any time soon.
"Thus, DeepSeek is not an existential threat to all US AI-related companies."
9.50am: Nasdaq, S&P tick up in mixed start on Wall Street
Wall Street faced mixed fortunes as trading got underway on Tuesday under an ongoing cloud of uncertainty around US-Chinese trade relations.
The Nasdaq ticked up 0.4%, regaining slightly after shedding 1.2% on Monday, while the S&P 500 opened flat and Dow Jones dropped a further 0.1%.
Focus remained on Donald Trump’s tariffs after deals saw US measures against Mexico and Canada pushed back for a month, but China respond with levies of its own.
Alphabet Inc’s Google, Nvidia Corp and Intel Corp were also reportedly among companies facing investigation in China as the trade spat intensified.
Shares in both Alphabet and Nvidia headed higher early on though, while Intel slipped 0.4%.
Palantir Technologies Inc topped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq’s risers in the meantime, jumping 24.5% after expectation-beating fourth-quarter figures… Read more
Estee Lauder Companies Inc was among fallers, dropping 12.0% on plans to double job cuts to as many as 7,000 worldwide in preparation for the impact of tariffs.
Merck & Co Inc also shed 11.2% on news of lower Gardasil vaccine sales and also plans to halt shipments of the drug to China, which it blamed on the likes of low demand.
6.52am: Mixed start expected as China tariff spat looms
Wall Street headed towards Tuesday’s session on the back foot once again as Donald Trump’s tariffs remained at the centre of attention.
Having firmed up tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese goods at the weekend, respective deals saw measures against the US’ neighbours pushed back for a month.
Levies on Chinese imports were met with retaliatory tariffs though, of between 10% and 15% on US goods set to come into force next week.
Uncertainty appeared to hang over Wall Street as a result, with futures pointing to further declines of 0.2% and 0.1% respectively for the Dow Jones and S&P 500.
A flat start was seen for the Nasdaq in the meantime, following a 1.2% slump on Monday.
JOLTS job openings figures for December were due on Tuesday, with markets expecting 7.8 million over the month against November’s 8.1 million.
“With market uncertainty over how trade relations will look going forward, it is difficult to know whether to treat the economic data at face value,” Scope Market’s Joshua Mahony said.
“The prospective breakdown in trade relations with China, coupled with the potential tariffs kicking in next month for Mexico and Canada do bring a degree of uncertainty.
“As such, it is likely that markets take any higher inflation or lower growth metrics with the greatest degree of seriousness given the potential for them to worsen.”