After recovering from an early sell-off but still ending the previous session mostly lower, stocks have moved back to the upside during trading on Tuesday. The major averages have all moved higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the charge.
Currently, the Nasdaq is just off its highs of the session, up 239.09 points or 1.2 percent at 19,631.05. The S&P 500 is also up 37.52 points or 0.6 percent at 6,032.09, while the narrower Dow is posting a more modest gain, up 73.09 points or 0.2 percent at 44,495.00.
The strength on Wall Street may partly reflect easing concerns about a global trade war after President Donald Trump agreed to pause 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for a month.
Positive sentiment may also have been regenerated in reaction to a report from the Labor Department showing job openings in the U.S. fell by much more than expected in the month of December.
The report said job openings tumbled to 7.6 million in December after climbing to an upwardly revised 8.2 million in November.
Economists had expected job openings to dip to 8.0 million from the 8.1 million originally reported for the previous month.
The data has led to some optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s more closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Meanwhile, traders have largely shrugged off news that China has slapped retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports in response to a 10 percent trade duty imposed on Chinese goods.
China’s Finance Ministry said it will impose a 15 percent duty on imports of coal and liquefied natural gas from the U.S.
In addition, there will be a 10 percent tariff on imports from the U.S. of crude oil, agricultural equipment and automobiles beginning February 10.
Sector News
Oil stocks have moved sharply higher despite a modest decrease by the price of crude oil, driving the NYSE Arca Oil Index up by 2.8 percent.
Considerable strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Software, retail and telecom stocks are also seeing notable strength, while pharmaceutical stocks have shown a significant move to the downside.
A steep drop by shares of Merck (MRK) is weighing on the pharmaceutical sector, with the drug giant plunging by 11.0 percent after providing disappointing full-year guidance.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged by 2.8 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a modest move to the upside after seeing early weakness. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.4 basis points at 4.531 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Higher Amid Easing Tariff Concerns
2025-02-04 16:15:47
