US stocks closed with mixed results on Tuesday, October 15, as markets continued to monitor developments in US-China trade relations. Trump once again criticized trading partners, describing failure to purchase American soybeans as "economic hostile behavior."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 202.88 points, or 0.44%, to close at 46,270.46. The Nasdaq Composite fell 172.91 points, or 0.76%, ending at 22,521.70. The S&P 500 declined 10.41 points, or 0.16%, to finish at 6,644.31.

The S&P 500 rebounded significantly from early lows during Tuesday's session, but gave back most of its gains ahead of the close as US-China trade dynamics evolved. Trump's renewed criticism of soybean purchasing behavior and threats of cooking oil embargoes ultimately drove the S&P 500 to close lower.

On Tuesday afternoon Eastern Time, Trump again posted on Truth Social, calling the failure to purchase American soybeans "economic hostile behavior." Following Trump's post, major indices retreated modestly from their highs before the close.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX), known as Wall Street's "fear gauge," briefly rose above Friday's closing level, indicating renewed Wall Street concerns about the difficulty of smoothly resolving US-China trade disputes and the potential necessity of using options to hedge against losses. The index briefly broke above 22 points, reaching a four-month high, though it retreated to around 20 points during afternoon trading.

AI-related stocks that have driven the recent bull market, including Nvidia and Oracle, declined again. These stocks were also among the hardest hit in Friday's selloff.

The decline stems from both sides beginning to impose additional port fees on each other's cargo vessels, representing the latest escalation in the ongoing trade dispute between the world's two largest economies. Additionally, five US subsidiaries of South Korea's Hanwha Ocean have been sanctioned for assisting and supporting US government-related investigations, which are deemed to harm national sovereignty, security, and development interests.

International trade tensions have continued to escalate since Friday, when President Trump threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports, causing US stocks to plummet and market capitalization to evaporate by $2 trillion in a single day. The Dow fell more than 800 points on Friday, with the S&P 500 posting its largest single-day decline since April 10.

However, on Sunday, Trump's stance softened as he made comments intended to ease trade relations. He posted on Truth Social, hinting to investors that he might not implement his previously threatened policy of "significantly raising tariffs on China."

US Vice President JD Vance echoed Trump's position on Sunday, stating that the United States is willing to negotiate while emphasizing that the US still holds "more leverage."

The softened rhetoric from the President and Vice President drove US stocks higher on Monday, with both the S&P 500 and Dow gaining more than 1% for the day. The S&P 500 recorded its largest single-day gain since May 27, while the Dow posted its best single-day performance since September 11, ending a five-day losing streak. Monday's rebound recovered more than half of the S&P 500's Friday losses and two-thirds of the Dow's deep decline.

Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, Head of Global Equity at UBS Global Wealth Management, noted in a report: "Trade policy remains a key driver of US financial markets this year, with US-China tensions deteriorating sharply last week. As positions on both sides harden, we expect US stock volatility to intensify before month-end. However, Trump's trade negotiation history shows that conflict escalation is often followed by tactical truces, and the rare earth minerals and shipping cost dynamics could ultimately lead to an agreement."

Florian Ielpo, Head of Macro Research at Lombard Odier Investment Managers, stated: "The deteriorating trade war situation is clearly causing market turbulence. With valuations elevated, markets are already fragile, and volatility is expected to persist."

Earnings season officially began with several companies reporting relatively solid quarterly results. Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo all exceeded analyst expectations. Goldman Sachs also outperformed estimates.

**Individual Stock Highlights**

JPMorgan Chase saw trading and investment banking fees surge in the third quarter, driven primarily by rebounds in trading and underwriting businesses, exceeding analyst expectations. Investment banking fee income jumped 16%, while market business revenue increased 25%. The market had previously expected these revenues to grow 11% and 17%, respectively.

"While there are some signs of slowing, particularly in employment growth, the US economy overall remains resilient," CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement. "However, the complex geopolitical environment, tariff and trade uncertainties, elevated asset prices, and persistent inflation risks continue to heighten uncertainty about the economic outlook."

Goldman Sachs' third-quarter profit far exceeded market expectations, benefiting from significant rebounds in investment banking and trading activities, as the company moves toward its best annual performance ever for its investment banking and markets divisions.

The report showed Goldman's third-quarter net profit increased 37% year-over-year to $4.1 billion, equivalent to earnings per share of $12.25, significantly higher than analyst expectations of $11.03. Revenue grew 20% year-over-year to $15.18 billion, also exceeding market consensus.

Rare earth-related stocks generally rose.

Tesla shares declined as nearly 2.9 million of the company's "Full Self-Driving" vehicles will be subject to US regulatory investigation.

General Motors will face $1.6 billion in expenses due to adjustments in electric vehicle production layout.

Oracle plans to deploy 50,000 AMD AI chips in the cloud in the second half of next year.

Johnson & Johnson raised its full-year sales forecast.

Navitas Semiconductor made progress in developing 800VDC gallium nitride and silicon carbide power devices.

PayPal was downgraded to "Sell" by Goldman Sachs.

Domino's Pizza third-quarter revenue exceeded expectations.

D.A. Davidson lowered Target's price target to $108.

Albertsons announced a $750 million share buyback program.

Ericsson's third-quarter net profit surged nearly 200% year-over-year, exceeding expectations.

BP warned that weak oil trading could pressure overall performance.