The S&P 500 climbed Tuesday after cutting come losses as tech jumped despite cautious sentiment on risk assets ahead of President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariff announcements.
At 4:00 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11 points, or 0.03%, the S&P 500 index traded up 0.4%, and the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.9%.
The broad-based S&P 500 lost nearly 5% in the first quarter of 2025, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite suffered an over 10% quarterly plunge, while the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 2% in the first quarter.
Trump reciprocal tariffs to be impose immediately
President Donald Trump is set to impose reciprocal tariffs on a broad range of trading partners on Apr. 2 that will go into effect immediately on Apr. 2, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.
Revoking diminish exepctions against China — allows small packages under 100 to come in duty free.
“My understanding is that the tariff announcement will come tomorrow. They will be effective immediately,” Leavitt said.
Trump is considering a range of measures that could include a blanket tariff as high as 20%, a tired-tariff measure or a customized country by country basis.
Trump is expected to announce the details of the administration’s reciprocal tariffs at 3:00 p.m. ET.
This initiative, referred to as “Liberation Day,” will be followed by a 25% tariff on auto imports starting April 3.
These measures are expected to significantly impact global trade dynamics and have raised concerns about their potential to contribute to recession risks.
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads.
Goldman Sachs has increased the probability of a U.S. recession to 35%, up from a previous estimate of 20%, citing the anticipated rise in average tariff rates to 15%.
Job openings dip, manufacturing activity slips, fueling further economic concerns
Signs of cooling in the labor market added to concerns about the economy ahead of of the all-important nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report dipped to 7.568 million in February, down from an upwardly revised prior level of 7.762 million and just below the consensus of 7.69 million. Job openings are down 877,000 over the year, data from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.
On the manufacturing front, meanwhile, ISM Manufacturing Index fell into contractionary in March, declining 1.3 points to 49.0, a four-month low.
Tech starts April on frontfoot as Tesla jumps
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), up 3%., led the broader move in tech higher just a day ahead of its Q1 update on deliveries.
Ahead of the data, investors are bracing for weaker deliveries from the EV maker as rising competition and a softer demand weigh. Demand has been hurt by CEO Elon Musk’s political activity as part of the Trump administration.
“While much of this softness is related to customers waiting for Model Y refreshes along with a lower cost new model set to be launched by the summer timeframe…the anti-Musk and brand issues are clearly at play and a major factor in this weak 1Q delivery number,” Wednesday said in a note.
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads.
PVH soars on strong Q4; Newsmax in ’meme stock’ fever
In terms of corporate news, PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) stock rose 18% after the luxury conglomerate, which owns brands such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, reported a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) stock fell 7.6% after a judge rejected the consumer healthcare giant’s $10 billion proposal to end tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that its baby powder and other talc products cause ovarian cancer.
Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) stock gained over 12% after the software company reported strong first-quarter earnings and also guided for full-year earnings that exceeded the consensus estimate.
Monday’s IPO for Newsmax Inc (NYSE:NMAX) jumped 183% on Tuesday after surging 735% in it debut. It is being called the “next meme stock.”
(Ayushman Ojha and Peter Nurse contributed to this article.)
