Stocks moved sharply lower at the start of trading on Wednesday but have shown a significant recovery since then. The major averages have climbed well off their early lows and are now lingering near the unchanged line.
Currently, the major averages are posting modest gains. The Dow is up 34.59 points or 0.1 percent at 42,024.55, the Nasdaq is up 7.62 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 17,457.51 and the S&P 500 is up 2.99 points or 0.1 percent at 5,636.06.
The early weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners.
Trump is scheduled to announce the new tariffs in a Rose Garden event shortly after the close of trading, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicating the new levies will be “effective immediately.”
A report from Bloomberg said Trump’s team is still finalizing the level and scope of the new import taxes he is slated to unveil.
Citing people familiar with the ongoing discussions, Bloomberg said the White House has not reached a firm decision on their tariff plan and continued to hash out their options in meetings on Tuesday.
However, as was seen in the two previous sessions, traders seemed to see the early slump as an opportunity to pick up stocks at reduced levels, leading to the subsequent rebound.
In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of March.
ADP said private sector employment jumped by 155,000 jobs in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 84,000 jobs in February.
Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 105,000 jobs compared to the addition of 77,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The Commerce Department also released a separate report showing factory orders increased by slightly more than anticipated in the month of February.
Sector News
With the broader markets little changed after recovering from an early slump, most of the major sectors are also showing only modest moves.
Airline stocks are seeing notable strength, however, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index climbing by 1.2 percent after ending Tuesday’s trading at its lowest closing level in over six months.
Banking and networking stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while steel stocks have moved to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.1 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi slid by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 0.6 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back near the unchanged line after seeing early strength. Currently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 4.157 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Little Changed After Recovering From Early Slump
2025-04-02 14:57:15
