After coming under pressure over the course of the previous session, stocks have shown a lack of direction during trading on Wednesday. The major averages have spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
Currently, the major averages are all in positive territory. The Nasdaq is up 181.36 points or 1.2 percent at 15,449.27, the S&P 500 is up 21.36 points or 0.4 percent at 5,004.13 and the Dow is up 120.20 points or 0.3 percent at 37,765.79.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders digest the latest news on tariff front while trying to determine whether the markets have reached a bottom following the recent nosedive.
After President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, including a 104 percent total levy on Chinese imports, took effect, China retaliated by announcing it will increase its tariffs on U.S. goods to 84 percent from 34 percent just after midnight on Thursday.
“China urges the US to immediately correct its wrong practices, cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, and properly resolve differences with China through equal dialogue on the basis of mutual respect,” China’s finance ministry said in a statement, according to a Google translation.
However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed in an interview with Fox Business that China doesn’t actually want to negotiate and called the country “the worst offenders in the international trading system.”
“They have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world, and I can tell you that this escalation is a loser for them,” Bessent said.
Members of the European Union have also voted in favor of the European Commission’s proposal to introduce trade countermeasures against the U.S. in response to tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from the EU.
The European Commission said the duties, which purportedly target a wide range of goods, will start being collected as of April 15th.
Meanwhile, in a post on Truth Social, Trump urged investors to “be cool,” claimed “everything is going to work out well” and called this a “great time to buy.”
Sector News
Gold stocks are turning in some of the market’s best performances on the day, resulting in a 3.9 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
The rally by gold stocks comes amid a substantial increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for June delivery skyrocketing $93.90 to $3,084.10 an ounce.
Significant strength is also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent jump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index is bouncing off its lowest closing level in over a year.
Airline and software stocks are also seeing notable strength, while pharmaceutical stocks are extending a recent sell-off, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 4.1 percent to a two-year intraday low.
Biotechnology stocks have also shown a substantial move to the downside, as reflected by the 3.2 percent plunge by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. Natural gas, healthcare and banking stocks are also seeing considerable weakness.
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 plunged by 3.9 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index shot up by 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved sharply lower. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 3.4 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 3.2 percent..
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the sharp pullback seen over the two previous sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 14.0 basis points at 4.400 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Lack Direction Amid Escalating Trade Tensions
2025-04-09 15:24:24
