Investors worry Trump’s attack on Powell will add to the pain 2. “For our country”: China’s patriots are buying on dips 3. Wall Street rebounds as corporate earnings take center stage, not tariff chaos 4. Bitcoin rises 5% to over $91,000 5. U.S. and Japan closer to outline of trade deal, sources say 6. IMF cuts growth forecasts for most countries after U.S. imposes century-high tariffs 7. Bessant sees U.S.-China trade tensions de-escalating, talks will be “a tough one”
Today’s key market dynamics
The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average all closed up more than 2%. * All 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, led by financial stocks. * The dollar fell below 140 yen for the first time since September but ended up 0.42%. The euro fell 0.73%. * Gold closed down 1.5%. * The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell 1 basis point to 4.3949%. * Brent crude fell 1.46% to $67.23 a barrel. * The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.25%. * MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed almost flat, while Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.17%.
Stocks rebound as Trump backs off Powell or trade rhetoric
Wall Street shifted into buying mode on Tuesday, with no new criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell or President Donald Trump’s erratic back-and-forth on tariffs to roil markets again.
The major indexes reversed Monday’s losses to hit fresh intraday highs after reports that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said the tariff standoff with China was unsustainable and he expected the situation to de-escalate offered some hope for U.S. trade talks.
With little other news on those fronts, investors focused more on company earnings. Earnings were mixed, with 3M Co.’s better-than-expected results sending its shares sharply higher, making it the biggest gainer in the Dow, while Northrop Grumman Corp. fell sharply. Tesla Inc. released its most anticipated earnings report of the day (and perhaps the week) after the close.
The electric car and battery maker run by Trump’s billionaire DOGE CEO Elon Musk kicked off the “Big Seven” earnings season with a 4.6% afternoon gain.
Nvidia and Apple, the top of the Big Seven, both posted solid gains.
Investors returned to stocks, making the safety bid for the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond somewhat less aggressive.
Gold continued to shine as the default safe-haven asset, but also retreated after reaching $3,500 an ounce for the first time.
The dollar didn’t hit new lows, not even against the safe-haven Swiss franc, which is about the best you can say given that global investors are currently turning up their noses at the United States and its assets.
Sentiment across the market remains fragile as investors await Trump’s next words in a one-sided battle with Powell over rate cuts, which has raised concerns about the central bank’s autonomy.
Still, while the president appears to be preemptively blaming the Fed chair for any economic impact, Trump must know that Powell is not the only voter on the Federal Open Market Committee even if he forcefully removes him before his term ends in a year.
He is joined by the five rotating regional Fed presidents, seven Fed governors and the New York Fed president on policy decisions. Aside from occasional disagreements, they have been in lockstep for months, and tariffs will only make their jobs harder.
What will move the market tomorrow?
Australia, Japan, India PMI preview US earnings: Boeing to report before the opening US five-year Treasury auction Fed Beige Book
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