4:16pm: Mixed day for stocks
The Nasdaq led gains in US stock markets on Tuesday, closing up 0.5% or 83 points at 18,272. The tech-heavy index continued its upward momentum from the previous day's rally, buoyed by optimism surrounding President Trump's upcoming tariff announcements.
The S&P 500 also finished in positive territory, gaining 0.2% or 9 points to close at 5,777. This marks a continuation of the index's recent climb, building on Monday's significant gains which saw it reach its highest level in over two weeks.
The Dow remained relatively flat, edging up just 4 points to close at 42,588, essentially unchanged from the previous session. This slight increase follows Monday's robust performance when the Dow surged by 1.4% or nearly 600 points.
Investors continue to react positively to reports suggesting that President Trump's forthcoming tariffs, expected to be announced on April 2, may be more targeted and less extensive than initially feared2. This optimism has helped alleviate concerns about potential negative impacts on economic growth and global trade.
3:08pm: Tuesday's headlines
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) sales in Europe have declined significantly amid increased competition and political backlash against its CEO Elon Musk, which has resulted in public protests, vandalism incidents, and calls for boycotts against the company.
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (NASDAQ:DJT), US president Donald Trump’s social media firm, announced an agreement with cryptocurrency trading platform Crypto.com to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Oklo (NYSE:OKLO) shares fell in early trade on Tuesday after the Santa Clara, California-based nuclear energy company reported widening losses and warned of additional losses ahead.
Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) shares fell and led a sell-off of Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong after the group's chairman warned about "the beginning" of a potential bubble in data center construction.
2:05pm: Uncertainty remains
Risk appetite on Wall Street continues to rebound, says Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading platform IG.
“Trading in recent sessions has been mercifully free of any tariff-related ‘tape bombs’, allowing US stocks to stage a decent rebound from their lows," Beauchamp commented.
"But the uncertainty ahead of April 2 remains. Corporate insiders have stepped up their buying, which is normally a good sign, key levels like 42,000 on the Dow have been recovered, but for many the rally still remains suspect.
"Perhaps a coherent plan on tariffs will emerge, but it still feels like the US administration, and markets generally, are stumbling around in the dark.”
12:50pm: Nasdaq edges higher
At the midpoint of trading Tuesday the Dow is down 0.2%, while the S&P 500 remains relatively flat with a marginal 0.0% change. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is outperforming, up 0.2%.
The market’s mixed performance comes after a period of volatility. Investors are likely still digesting recent economic data and geopolitical developments. The slight gains in the Nasdaq suggest that technology stocks may be finding some favor among traders today.
Still, these movements are relatively small, indicating a cautious mood in the market.
11:47am: Consumer confidence stumbles
Consumer confidence declined in March, with expectations hitting a 12-year low due to concerns over tariffs, DOGE, and the stock market selloff. Other surveys also show a drop in outlook for Q1, signaling weaker discretionary spending in the near term.
Comerica plans to lower its 2025 GDP forecast, indicating slower economic growth in 2025 compared to 2023 and 2024, according to Bill Adams, the bank's chief economist.
"When people fear for their jobs, they will cut back on discretionary spending on vacations and going out, and delay big purchases like new houses, cars, or appliances," Adams commented.
He warned that discretionary consumer spending is likely to weaken near-term.
"It’s hard to say how long the headwinds from retrenching consumer confidence will last. Comerica’s forecast assumes that the DOGE cutbacks and revenues from tariffs are repurposed to partially pay for tax cuts next year: The extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and probably some incremental cuts to fulfill campaign promises and juice the stock market, too.
"If the public conversation turns from spending cuts to tax cut happy talk, consumer sentiment could rebound."
11:08am: S&P recovery
The S&P 500 saw a notable 1.76% recovery in yesterday’s trading session, fueled by a rebound in key technology stocks and a more conciliatory approach to tariffs from President Donald Trump's administration.
"Investors welcomed news that the US government might implement tariffs in a more selective manner rather than imposing them broadly across multiple industries," said Linh Tran, Market Analyst at XS.com.
"Specifically, President Trump announced that he would soon unveil new tariffs on automobiles, aluminum, and pharmaceuticals, while also hinting that certain sectors could receive exemptions or face lower-than-expected tariff rates.
"This development helped ease concerns about the potential negative impact on supply chains and economic growth, particularly for businesses heavily reliant on imported raw materials. However, markets are still awaiting further details to assess the true extent of these policy measures."
9.58am: Mixed start for Wall Street
Wall Street started with a smidgen of confidence, but already the Dow Jones has dropped slightly into the red, down 12 points at 42,571.1
The S&P 500 is up just over five points or 0.1% at 5,773.45, while the Nasdaq Composite has gained 32 points or 0.2% at 18,220.5.
Nvidia shares are a drag, down 1.4%, with Tesla and Walmart down 1.5%, though Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta are all higher, with the Facebook owner the strongest, up just over 1%.
Top riser on the S&P is CrowdStrike as the cybersecurity giant said it was taking a "partner-first approach on services".
9.10am: Possible progress on Ukraine peace talks
News agencies are sharing more details on the US-led Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia, which have been going on since Sunday.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov mooted a possible ceasefire agreement on Black Sea shipping, Reuters reported, seen as a step towards a wider ceasefire with Ukraine.
But Lavrov said a Black Sea deal would only be made if the US encourages Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to respect it.
"We will need clear guarantees. And given the sad experience of agreements with just Kyiv, the guarantees can only be the result of an order from Washington to Zelenskyy and his team to do one thing and not the other," Lavrov said to TV reporters.
Zelenskyy said in his most recent nightly briefing that "Russia remains the only actor dragging this war out, jeering at both our people and the global community".
He also called for "strong actions", presumably from the US too, to "push Russia toward peace", with Russia having launched a fresh drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight.
8am: Wall Street to extend stock gains on Tuesday
US stock futures flipped from red to green with an hour and a half to go before Tuesday's opening bell in New York, though why was not exactly clear.
Futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.2%, while those for the Dow Jones gained 0.1%, and the Nasdaq 100 inched up 0.15%.
This followed a strong start to the week, with the Nasdaq surging just over 2%, the S&P jumping 1.7% and the Dow Jones 1.3%. The domestically focused small- and mid-cap index, the Russell 2000, jumped 2.55%.
US building permits came in stronger than expected, and US-led Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia ended without a new agreement seeming to be made.
Market analyst Kenny Polcari at Slatestone Wealth said when US futures were lower earlier "it does feel like it wants to push higher" and that strategists at some of the big investment banks and asset management firms "are suggesting that the worst of the pullback might be over, though volatility could persist depending on tariff policy outcomes".
For this week's rally to continue, he said "earnings growth will need to replace valuation expansion as the primary market driver" in the coming earnings season.
Polcari reminded investors that the end of the quarter is only days away and he expects "a fair amount of volatility" in the next three trading days.
In company news, Tesla's sales in Europe and the UK in the first two months of car sales have dropped over 42%, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) shows.
Elon Musk's electric vehicle company has seen its market share in the European Union, the UK and the EFTA trading zone, which includes Norway and Switzerland, shrink to 1.8% from 2.8% in the first two months of last year, with 26,619 vehicles sold compared to 46,343.
Protests against the company have been seen outside the company’s showrooms in several countries this year, following a controversial salute from Musk at a political rally and his association with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency as it makes heavy cuts to US public sector jobs.