Latest News

U.S. stock fluctuates, oil drops amid earnings and trade talks

Wall Street was in a state of flux on Tuesday, with gains and losses, as investors tried to balance corporate earnings, progress made by President Donald Trump’s multi-fronted tariff negotiations and the generally negative economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average led the way, while all three major U.S. indexes rose modestly.

Canada's election was a rebuke of U.S. president Donald Trump's brutal trade policies and his comments about annexing Canada to become the 51st State in the United States.

Tim Ghriskey is a senior portfolio strategist with Ingalls & Snyder, based in New York. "They will be very strict on trade issues. They're probably insulted that Trump wants them to be the 51st State.

Ghriskey said, "I hope the rhetoric coming out of the White House subsides."

U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent stated on Tuesday that tariff talks were ongoing. He said that Beijing was responsible for the U.S. China trade negotiations and that he did not expect any disruptions to supply chains as a result of these disputes.

According to two sources with knowledge of the situation, China has excluded ethane imports from its 125% tariff, the latest indication that the tariff situation remains fluid.

This week, the first-quarter reporting period is in full swing.

This week, four of the "Magnificent 7" artificial intelligence megacap stocks are expected to release their results: Meta Platforms (Microsoft), Apple, and Amazon.com.

Consumer confidence has deteriorated more than expected, and the number of job openings is down 3.9%.

Ghriskey stated that "consumer confidence has also dropped significantly." He added, "I think there's a lot of nervousness in the economy because of these trade issues and tariff issues." "There will be some pain at the consumer level."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 225.92, or 0.56 percent, to 40.453.51. The S&P 500 gained 10.79, or 0.19 percent, to 5,539.54. And the Nasdaq Composite increased by 13.18, or 0.07 percent, to 17.378.36.

Investors pared back initial gains in European shares as they scrutinized corporate earnings and kept an eye on tariff developments.

The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 2.26 points or 0.27% to 829.47.

The pan-European STOXX 600 Index rose 0.38% while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 Index rose 8.18 points or 0.39%.

Emerging market stocks increased 4.72 points or 0.43% to 1,107.28. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan closed up by 0.34%, at 575.73. Japan's Nikkei gained 134.25, or 0.38% points, to 35,839.99.

The dollar rose after Bessent made his comments about progress in trade negotiations, but it was still on track to record its largest two-month drop in over 20 years.

The Canadian loonie weakened against the dollar after the Liberals of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney retained power following the election on Monday. This was fueled by the backlash from Trump's tariffs, and his comments about Canada becoming the 51st State.

The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies) rose by 0.12%, to 99.16. However, the euro fell by 0.21%, at $1.1397.

The dollar gained 0.11% against the Japanese yen to 142.18.

The dollar fell 0.31%, to $1.3397.

The Mexican peso rose 0.03% against the dollar to 19.586.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.22% against the greenback, to C$1.39 a dollar.

The yields on U.S. Treasury 10-year bonds fell for the sixth consecutive day, reaching a new three-week-low following weaker than expected economic data.

The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes dropped 3.7 basis points from 4.216% to 4.179% late on Monday.

The 30-year bond rate fell 2.9 basis point to 4.6636%, from 4.693% at the end of Monday.

The yield on the 2-year bond, which is usually in line with expectations of interest rates for the Federal Reserve (Federal Reserve), fell by 2.5 basis points, to 3.66% from 3.685% at late Monday.

Oil prices fell as Trump's multi-fronted trade war increased the probability of a global recession, and fuelled fears that demand would be dampened.

U.S. crude dropped 1.93%, to $60.85 per barrel. Brent was down to $64.54 a barrel on the same day.

The dollar gained in value, while gold prices declined.

Spot gold dropped 0.9% to $3.311.29 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures dropped 0.69% to an ounce of $3,310.00.

(source: Reuters)