S&P 500 Little Changed Amid Volatility On Wall Street

After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks have seen considerable volatility over the course of the trading day on Thursday. While the Dow has managed to remain in positive territory, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have swung back and forth across the unchanged line.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. The Dow is up 302.85 points or 0.7 percent at 43,735.97, the S&P 500 is down 4.51 points or 0.1 percent at 5,951.55 and the Nasdaq is down 126.86 points or 0.7 percent at 18,948.40.

Stocks initially benefited from a positive reaction to earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), which reported better than expected fourth quarter results and provided upbeat revenue guidance for the current quarter.

However, shares of Nvidia have subsequently slumped by 4.0 percent as the AI darling and market leader also warned about increase global competition.

The volatility on Wall Street also comes as President Donald Trump has clarified that previously paused 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will go into effect on March 4th.

Trump said an additional 10 percent tariff on imports from China will also be imposed on that date, claiming drugs are pouring into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada and that a large percentage of the drugs are supplied by China.

The president also said in a Truth Social post that the April 2nd date for reciprocal tariffs on other U.S. trade partners will “remain in full force and effect.”

Traders are also digesting the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits climbed much more than expected in the week ended February 22nd.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed durable goods orders surged by much more than expected in January, although the growth was largely due to a spike in volatile orders for transportation equipment.

Sector News

Gold stocks have moved sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal, resulting in a 2.7 percent plunge by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

Semiconductor and computer hardware stocks are also seeing substantial weakness, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index tumbling by 2.3 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

Utilities stocks have also shown a notable move to the downside, while financial stocks are turning in a strong performance on the day.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks have moved mostly lower on the day. The German DAX Index is down by 1.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.6 percent, although the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has bucked the downtrend and risen by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground following a recent upward trend. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.3 basis points at 4.292 percent.