Ongoing Tariff Uncertainty May Lead To Choppy Trading On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction after trending higher over the past few sessions.

Lingering uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s tariff plans may key some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of some key U.S. economic data in the coming days.

Trump said during an interview with Newsmax on Tuesday that new tariffs would “probably be more lenient than reciprocal,” because reciprocal tariffs would be “very tough for people.”

However, while Trump also said there would be exceptions to the tariffs, he noted there would be “not too many exceptions.”

Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred consumer price inflation readings on Friday.

The futures remained little unchanged even after the Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected increase by new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of February.

Following the rally seen during Monday’s session, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing in positive territory for the third straight day.

The Nasdaq climbed 83.26 points or 0.5 percent to 18,271.86, the S&P 500 rose 9.08 points or 0.2 percent to 5,776.65 and the Dow inched up 4.18 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 42,587.50.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came amid ongoing uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s tariff plans following recent reports he plans to take a more narrow approach to new tariffs.

Trump said at an event on Monday that he “may give a lot of countries breaks” on reciprocal tariffs that are set to take effect April 2nd.

However, Trump also said he plans to impose tariffs on the automotive and pharmaceutical industries in the “very near future” and later added the lumber and semiconductor industries to his list of targets.

The president has recently made many conflicting remarks about his tariff plans, leading to considerable uncertainty on Wall Street.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Conference Board showing consumer confidence in the U.S. deteriorated by more than expected in the month of March.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index tumbled to 92.9 in March from an upwardly revised 100.1 in February.

Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to slump to 94.2 from the 98.3 originally reported for the previous month.

“Consumer confidence declined for a fourth consecutive month in March, falling below the relatively narrow range that had prevailed since 2022,” said Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board.

Despite the higher close by the broader markets, pharmaceutical stocks moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index down by 2.0 percent.

Considerable weakness was also visible among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones Utility Average.

Airline, healthcare and biotechnology stocks also saw notable weakness, while gold stocks moved higher along with the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 1.6 percent.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are climbing $0.53 to $69.53 a barrel after slipping $0.11 to $69 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $3,032.90, up $7 compared to the previous session’s close of $3,025.90. On Tuesday, gold rose $10.30.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 150.20 yen compared to the 149.91 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0787 compared to yesterday’s $1.0791.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Wednesday even as deteriorating U.S. consumer confidence in the face of tariff fears coincided with economists’ forecasts suggesting a risk of stagflation and rising odds of recession.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index ended little changed at 3,368.70 after the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index tumbled for a sixth consecutive day, marking its longest losing streak in more than a year.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.6 percent to 23,483.32.

Japanese markets advanced after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to take “strong measures” to counter soaring prices.

“The Prime Minister didn’t intend to say we’re rolling out new budget spending,” government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. “Rather we’re going to fully utilize the policies outlined in this year’s additional budget and next year’s initial budget.”

The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.7 percent to 38,027.29, while the broader Topix Index closed up 0.6 percent at 2,812.89.

Seoul stocks rallied as tech and auto stocks surged amid relief over Trump’s recent comments on tariff sanctions.

Investors also cheered the results of a survey that showed Korean business sentiment rebounded for the first time in five months in March. The Kospi jumped 1.1 percent to 2,643.94.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 2.7 percent, chip giant SK Hynix advanced 2.9 percent and top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.9 percent.

Australian markets rose for a fifth straight session as data showed consumer inflation slowed in February, reinforcing market views for more rate cuts in the months ahead.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.7 percent to 7,999, with consumer staple stocks and the big four banks pacing the gainers. The broader All Ordinaries Index settled 0.7 percent higher at 8,225.10.

Gold miner Ramelius Resources surged over 6 percent and Spartan Resources rallied 4.9 percent after Macquarie talked up the benefits of their impending merger.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index jumped 1.2 percent to 12,334.18, marking its biggest single-day gain since November 22 and extending its winning streak to five sessions.

Europe

European stocks are mostly lower on Wednesday ahead of a looming deadline for implementing additional U.S. tariffs.

U.K. stocks clung to marginal gains after official data showed U.K. consumer price inflation unexpectedly softened in February.

The consumer price index logged an annual increase of 2.8 percent in February following January’s 3.0 percent jump. Prices were forecast to climb again by 3.0 percent.

While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.6 percent.

Construction equipment manufacturer Wacker Neuson SE has shown a significant move to the downside after its revenue for 2024 fell 15.8 percent.

Aroundtown, one of Germany’s largest listed landlords, has also tumbled after the firm’s Funds From Operations I (FFO I) fell to €316 million, representing a 5 percent decline compared to the prior year.

British developer Vistry has also plummeted after reporting sharply lower profit for fiscal 2024.

U.S. Economic News

New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly increased in the month of February, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders climbed by 0.9 percent in February after spiking by an upwardly revised 3.3 in January.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to slump by 1.0 percent compared to the previously reported 3.2 percent surge.

Excluding a jump by orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders still rose by 0.7 percent in February after inching up by 0.1 percent in January. Ex-transportation orders were expected to rise by 0.2 percent.

At 10 am ET, Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari is due to host a “Fed Listens” event conversation before the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce Economic Summit.

The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its report on oil inventories in the week ended March 21st at 10:30 am ET.

At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the results of this month’s auction of $70 billion worth of five-year notes.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem is scheduled to speak and participate in a moderated conversation on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before a Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce/Greater Paducah Economic Development luncheon at 1:10 pm ET.