MARKET SNAPSHOT

U.S. stocks finished higher as investors sifted through earnings results, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he has reached a trade deal with an unnamed country. Benchmark 10-year and 2-year U.S. Treasury notes both rallied for a fourth straight day after more data hinted at a weaker economic trajectory. Oil prices continued to fall amid oversupply fears coupled with demand worries. Gold prices fell as the dollar strengthened.

MARKET WRAPS

EQUITIES

Stocks climbed after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a CNBC interview that he has reached a trade deal with an unnamed country.

Despite the afternoon rally, the S&P 500 ended the day with its biggest loss in the first 100 days of a new presidential term since Nixon's in 1973.

Meanwhile, a consumer-sentiment survey showed the economic mood getting gloomier in April, while a separate report on March job openings indicated that the U.S. job market looked a little weaker heading into this month's tariff turmoil.

While there is movement in various aspects of trade talks, the China-U.S. trade war showed no signs of easing. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to say whether the U.S. and China are in direct negotiations over tariffs, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry vowed in a social-media video posted to "never kneel down" to Washington.

Stocks advanced. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.7%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite ended 0.5% higher.

Earlier Tuesday, China's benchmark Shanghai Composite declined 0.1%. The Shenzhen Composite Index edged 0.2% higher. The ChiNext Price Index slipped 0.1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.1%.

China's economy is facing challenges in the coming quarters due to trade tensions, according to Julius Baer economist Sophie Altermatt. Altermatt noted that China is likely to experience significantly weaker growth in the coming quarters, amid exceptionally high uncertainties surrounding the economic outlook.

Stocks in Australia rose, as the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.9% for its fourth consecutive session of increases.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index slipped 0.6%, snapping a three-session winning streak.

Markets in Japan were closed for Showa Day.

COMMODITIES

Oil futures posted back-to-back losses on concerns about supply increasing while tariffs threaten to curb demand.

"Oil prices continue to lose ground as demand and supply factors contribute to market volatility. This scenario is likely to lead to another decline below the $60 range, potentially reaching new 52-week lows," Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital said.

Wednesday's focus will likely be on weekly U.S. inventory data, with a small 100,000 barrel build seen in crude stocks, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of analysts.

West Texas Intermediate settled down 2.6% at $60.42 a barrel, and Brent for June delivery fell 2.4% to $64.25.

Gold fell for the day, with the front-month contract sliding 0.4% to $3,318.80 a troy ounce.

That makes it four out of the past six closes that gold has moved lower -- but analysts are still holding to the outlook that gold prices have a lot of upside left.

Analysts with Goldman Sachs Commodities Research said they expect gold prices could rise even above the firm's $3,700 per ounce forecast, due to "U.S. governance concerns and a flight to safety."

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Consumer confidence sinks for fifth month in a row to lowest since May 2020

The numbers: The consumer-confidence index sank in April to the lowest level since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Conference Board said Tuesday.

Confidence fell 7.9 points to 86.0 in April, the fifth straight monthly decline.

Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast the index to register 87.3 in April from the initial March reading of 92.9.

Trump to Soften Blow of Automotive Tariffs

WASHINGTON-President Trump is expected to soften the impact of his automotive tariffs, preventing duties on foreign-made cars from stacking on top of other tariffs he has imposed and easing some levies on foreign parts used to manufacture cars in the U.S., the White House said Tuesday.

"It's a little bit of help," Trump told reporters Tuesday. "We just wanted to help them enjoy this little transition, short-term."

The decision will mean that automakers paying Trump's automotive tariffs won't also be charged for other duties, such as those on steel and aluminum, according to people familiar with the policy. The move would be retroactive, the people said, meaning that automakers could be reimbursed for such tariffs already paid. The 25% tariff on finished foreign-made cars went into effect early this month.

Amazon Rules Out Displaying Tariff Impact After White House Attack

Amazon.com was forced to play down a report that it was considering displaying the impact of tariffs during its online checkout process after President Trump called company founder Jeff Bezos and the White House said such a move would be "a hostile and political act."

The e-commerce giant said Tuesday it had considered displaying how much import charges would increase prices on its ultracheap shopping website Haul, but said the idea "was never approved and is not going to happen."

Amazon also said it hadn't considered the idea for the main Amazon site, and no changes had been implemented on any Amazon properties.

UPS to Cut 20,000 Jobs After Amazon Breakup

United Parcel Service said it is cutting 20,000 operational positions this year, moving to slash expenses after breaking ways with Amazon.com, its biggest customer.

UPS, which has nearly 490,000 employees, has been looking to shrink its operations after deciding in January to reduce the amount of packages it delivers for Amazon. The e-commerce giant accounted for about 12% of UPS's revenue.

UPS also expects to close 73 leased and owned buildings this year. Last year, it closed 11 buildings and cut 12,000 jobs, mainly managerial roles. About 330,000 of its workers are represented by the Teamsters. The union didn't respond to requests for comment.

GM Pulls Profit Guidance, Citing 'Significant' Tariff Impact

General Motors is shelving its earlier profit guidance for 2025, saying President Trump's auto tariffs have clouded the outlook and its prior forecast "can't be relied upon."Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said the company would come back to the market with an update once its executives have more clarity.

"Given the evolving nature of the situation, we believe the future impact of tariffs could be significant," Jacobson told reporters on a call Monday evening.

GM reported quarterly earnings Tuesday morning but said it would delay its analysts call until Thursday, an unusual move that underscores the rapidly shifting trade environment.

Expected Major Events for Wednesday

01:00/NZ: Apr ANZ Business Outlook

01:00/JPN: Mar Steel Imports & Exports Statistics

01:00/PHI: Mar External Trade Performance

01:30/AUS: Mar Monthly CPI

01:30/AUS: 1Q Quarterly CPI

01:30/AUS: Mar Financial Aggregates, incl Private Sector Credit

01:30/CHN: Apr CFLP China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index $(PMI.UK)$

01:30/CHN: Apr CFLP China Non-Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI)

01:45/CHN: Apr China Manufacturing PMI

02:00/SIN: Mar Money Supply

02:00/SIN: Mar Bank Loans

03:00/SKA: Mar New deposit, loan rates

04:30/JPN: Mar Preliminary Report on Petroleum Statistics

05:00/JPN: Feb Indexes of Business Conditions - Revision

05:00/JPN: Mar Housing Starts

05:00/JPN: Mar Construction Orders

06:30/AUS: Mar International Reserves & Foreign Currency Liquidity

07:00/THA: Bank of Thailand Monetary Policy Committee meeting and decision

07:00/THA: Mar Industrial Production Index

07:00/MAL: Mar Money Supply

08:00/TAI: 1Q Advance GDP

08:15/HK: Mar Money Supply

09:59/HK: Mar Tourism figures

23:00/AUS: Apr Australia Manufacturing PMI

00:00/SKA: Apr Trade data

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2025 16:55 ET (20:55 GMT)

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