MARKET SNAPSHOT

U.S. stocks were mixed and Treasury yields declined as trade tensions between China and the U.S. continued. Gold and silver settled at new highs, while the dollar weakened. Oil fell for the third time in four sessions.

MARKET WRAPS

EQUITIES

U.S. stocks finished mixed in a topsy-turvy session reflecting reversals in the state of U.S.-China trade tensions.

A comment just shy of noon by the U.S. Trade Representative that the two nations' presidents are on track to meet pushed the Dow into positive territory following a lower open. Markets extended gains after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made comments that buttressed expectations that more interest-rate cuts are coming.

They then pulled back again when President Trump said the U.S. is "considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade," in response to China not ordering U.S. soybeans.

The S&P 500 closed down 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite was off 0.8%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%.

In Asia, shares closed mostly lower.

Chinese shares gave up opening gains to close lower Tuesday due to some profit-taking and reignited U.S.-China trade tensions weighed on investor sentiment. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.6% lower, the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1.9% and the ChiNext Price Index declined 4.0%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index declined 1.7%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 2.6% lower, posting its largest one-day decline since April 11, thanks to domestic political uncertainty following the withdrawal of Komeito from Japan's ruling coalition.

Stocks in Australia rose, as the S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index gained 0.2%.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's stocks fell. The S&P/NZX 50 Index declined 0.6%.

COMMODITIES

Oil futures fell for the third time in four sessions with U.S.-China trade issues weighing and the IEA raising its crude surplus estimates for this year and next.

Analysts noted the IEA forecasts put supply next year nearly 4 million barrels a day above demand.

"I'm personally not in that camp, but a supply/demand imbalance does look to be in the cards if OPEC continues with higher production numbers, " Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial said. "The latest tensions between the U.S. and China will also be a pressure point on crude as China's economy could be in question if tensions stay elevated."

WTI settled down 1.3% at $58.70 a barrel, and Brent fell 1.5% to $62.39 a barrel.

Gold futures settled the day at a new high, and traders think there's a potential for gold to rise as high as $5,000 a troy ounce.

Front-month gold closed up 0.7% to $4,138.70 a troy ounce, marking the third straight positive finish. Silver also found a new high, with the front-month contract closing up 0.4% to $50.314 a troy ounce.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Trump Opens New Front In China Trade War: Cooking Oil

President Donald Trump has opened a new front in the trade war with China: cooking oil.

Calling China's decision not to buy soybeans from American farmers purposeful and "an Economically Hostile Act," Trump said on his social media account that the administration was considering terminating business with China having to do with cooking oil and "other elements of trade." He called it retribution.

"We can easily produce Cooking Oil ourselves, we don't need to purchase it from China," Trump said in the post, which appeared at 3:37 p.m. Eastern time and sent shockwaves through the stock market.

Powell Keeps Fed on Track to Lower Rates Again

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell left the central bank on track to reduce interest rates again at its meeting later this month by highlighting weakness in the job market despite lingering concerns over sticky inflation.

Powell said the central bank is trying to balance against two risks that could call for competing policy steps. Cutting rates too quickly could "leave the inflation job unfinished," but moving too slowly to reduce borrowing costs could spur "painful losses in the employment market," he said Tuesday at an economics conference in Philadelphia.

"There really isn't a risk-free path now, since [inflation] appears to be continuing to increase quite gradually...but now the labor market has demonstrated pretty significant downside risks," Powell said. "Both the supply and demand for labor has declined quite sharply."

Wall Street Is Firing on All Cylinders, Fueled by Deals and Trading

Wall Street is firing on all cylinders.

Dealmaking, trading and corporate lending are gaining steam and fueling profits at the nation's biggest banks, with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all beating third-quarter profit and revenue forecasts.

Goldman is now on pace for its best year ever in its main investment-banking and markets division. JPMorgan is on track to make over $50 billion in annual profit for the second year in a row. BlackRock is sitting on a record $13.5 trillion in assets under management.

LVMH Sales Pick Up in Ray of Light for Beleaguered Luxury Sector

Luxury giant LVMH, the owner of Louis Vuitton, reported an improvement in sales growth, a sign the sector could be reaching a turning point from a protracted slump in demand that has taken a toll on most high-end brands.

The French luxury-goods conglomerate, which is considered a bellwether for the sector, on Tuesday logged revenue of 18.28 billion euros ($21.15 billion) for the third quarter, 1% higher organically than in the same period a year earlier. In the previous quarter, the group recorded a 4% drop in sales.

The result was slightly ahead of analysts' forecast of 18.24 billion euros, according to a poll of estimates compiled by Visible Alpha, which also anticipated a 0.6% decline in group revenue.

Trade Tensions Weigh on IMF's Outlook for Global Economy

Tariffs, inflation and other threats such as eroding central-bank independence are all clouding the world economic outlook, the International Monetary Fund said in its latest round of projections.

The IMF said the global economy is on pace to grow by 2.6% this year, measured on a fourth-quarter-versus-fourth-quarter basis. That is down from a projected 2.7% in its July forecast and a slowdown from 3.6% growth last year. Growth is projected to rebound next year to 3.3%, a 10th of a percentage point more than projected in July.

U.S. growth is now likely to slow to 1.9% this year, better than the 1.7% the IMF projected in July but down from 2.4% growth recorded in 2024. Next year, the IMF sees 2% U.S. growth.

Goldman Sachs Plans Layoffs Despite Surging Profits

Goldman Sachs reported Tuesday it is now on pace for its best year ever in its main investment banking and markets division, though warned it would move to cut jobs in the coming weeks.

Wall Street's engines are gaining steam thanks to a booming stock market and growing appetite in corporate boardrooms and executive suites to pursue mergers or public offerings. Still, Chief Executive David Solomon said Tuesday the bank was being cautious about the enthusiasm.

"Taking a step back, there is no question there's a fair amount of investor exuberance at the moment," Solomon said. "While I feel good about the forward outlook on balance, the market operates in cycles and disciplined risk management is imperative. We are especially vigilant in times like these."

Soon You'll Be Able to Shop Walmart in ChatGPT. Here's Why It Matters.

Walmart is forming a partnership with OpenAI to let shoppers buy its products directly within ChatGPT, the artificial-intelligence chatbot. It is a signal by the biggest U.S. retailer that online shopping is going to become a totally different experience from the retail websites we are all used to.

For years, shoppers have used a search bar and browsed a long list of items, Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon said Tuesday. "That is about to change," he said.

LVMH Sales Pick Up in Ray of Light for Beleaguered Luxury Sector

Luxury giant LVMH, the owner of Louis Vuitton, reported an improvement in sales growth, a sign the sector could be reaching a turning point from a protracted slump in demand that has taken a toll on most high-end brands.

The French luxury-goods conglomerate, which is considered a bellwether for the sector, on Tuesday logged revenue of 18.28 billion euros ($21.15 billion) for the third quarter, 1% higher organically than in the same period a year earlier. In the previous quarter, the group recorded a 4% drop in sales.

The result was slightly ahead of analysts' forecast of 18.24 billion euros, according to a poll of estimates compiled by Visible Alpha, which also anticipated a 0.6% decline in group revenue.

Expected Major Events for Wednesday

00:00/AUS: Aug Westpac-Melbourne Institute Indexes of Economic Activity

00:00/AUS: Sep Vacancy Report

01:30/CHN: Sep PPI

01:30/CHN: Sep CPI

03:00/SKA: Aug Money Supply index L

04:30/JPN: Aug Revised Industrial Production

04:30/JPN: Aug Revised Retail Sales

08:00/HK: Sep Hong Kong port container throughput monthly estimates

09:59/CHN: Sep Broad Money M2

09:59/PHI: Aug Overseas Filipino Workers Remittances figures

09:59/CHN: Sep FDI Foreign Direct Investment

10:59/INA: 3Q Quarterly Investment Data - Foreign and Domestic Investment Realization Results

21:45/NZ: Sep Selected Price Index

23:50/JPN: Aug Orders Received for Machinery

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 14, 2025 16:51 ET (20:51 GMT)

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