Stocks surged on Wednesday on hopes that U.S.-China trade tensions could soon ease, while President Donald Trump signaled he doesn’t plan to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell from his post as central bank leader.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average popped 889 points, or 2.3%. The S&P 500 climbed 2.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 3.8%.
Trump said Tuesday he’s willing to take a less confrontational approach to trade talks with China, noting that the current 145% tariff on Chinese imports is “very high, and it won’t be that high. … No, it won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said Wednesday that both countries have the chance to make “a big deal” on trade. “If they want to rebalance, let’s do it together,” Bessent said.
“That’s what the market has been begging for — even just a hint of cooling down in the back and forth between the U.S. and China when it comes to trade,” said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. “The market is relieved, of course — the worst talk is hopefully behind us — but we’re still not at the end game.”
The Wall Street Journal also reported Wednesday, citing a White House official, that the administration was considering reducing China tariffs to between 50% and 65%. A White House official later told CNBC that such a move would have to be bilateral, however, with China lowering trade barriers as well.
Stocks with higher exposure to China that have sold off in recent weeks rallied. This included “Magnificent Seven” titans Apple and Nvidia, which were up 3% and 5%, respectively.
Shares of Tesla popped 5% also due to easing tariff pressures and after CEO Elon Musk said during the company’s Tuesday earnings call that his time spent running Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency will drop “significantly” starting next month.
Investors also breathed a sigh of relief as Trump also said that he has “no intention” of firing Powell, whose term as Fed chair will end in May 2026. The comment is a reversal of sorts for the president, who fired off barbs against Powell as recently as Monday, calling the central bank leader a “major loser” and demanding that interest rates come down. Just last week, Trump said in a Truth Social post that Powell’s “termination cannot come fast enough.”
Stocks are coming off of a winning session, with the 30-stock Dow surging more than 1,000 points to end a four-day losing streak. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite jumped more than 2%.
Bessent says there’s opportunity for ‘big deal’ with China
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. and China have the opportunity to strike “a big deal” on trade.
During an appearance at the Institute of International Trade and Finance in Washington, D.C., he said: “If they want to rebalance, let’s do it together.”
“This is an incredible opportunity. I think if Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio were to write something, he could call it a beautiful rebalancing,” he added.
— Dan Mangan
Fed’s Kugler expects no change in interest rates until inflation threat passes
Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler sees tariffs posing a risk to inflation, and she expects to hold interest rates steady until that threat passes.
In a speech Tuesday evening, the central bank official said President Donald Trump’s 10% across the board duties on imports, plus the threat of more to come, pose threats to both price stability and unemployment. However, she focused more on the inflation side.
“Still, I think our monetary policy is well positioned for changes in the macroeconomic environment,” Kugler said during speech in Minneapolis. “Thus, I will support maintaining the current policy rate for as long as these upside risks to inflation continue, while economic activity and employment remain stable.”
—Jeff Cox
Manufacturing, services PMI readings paint mixed picture
Manufacturing activity rose more than expected in April though services industries saw conditions tail off, according to purchase manager surveys Wednesday from S&P Global.
The firm’s “flash” PMI for manufacturing hit a reading of 50.7 for the month, just above the breakeven level of 50 for expansion. That was a slight increase from the upwardly revised 50.2 in March and better than the Dow Jones estimate for 49.5.
On services, the index fell to 51.4, down from 54.5 and below the forecast for 52.8.
Respondents in both surveys noted inflationary impact from tariffs, but particularly on the manufacturing side. Some domestic companies linked tariffs to stronger sales, though foreign revenue slipped overall.
— Jeff Cox
Stocks rally Wednesday morning
Stocks rallied to kick off Wednesday’s trading session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 750 points, or 2%. The S&P 500 popped 2.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 3.2%.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Boeing, Tesla among the names making moves before the bell
Check out the stocks making big moves in premarket trading Wednesday:
- Boeing – The aerospace stock rose more than 5% after the company reported a narrower loss for the first quarter. Boeing said it had a net loss of $31 million in the first quarter, improving on the $355 million loss in the same period last year. Excluding items, the loss of 49 cents per share was better than the $1.18 loss expected by analysts, according to FactSet. CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company will ask the Federal Aviation Administration to approve increased production of 737 Max jets.
- Tesla – The electric vehicle maker jumped more than 7% despite its first-quarter results missing Wall Street’s expectations. Telsa earned 27 cents per share after adjustments on revenue of $19.34 billion, below the 39 cents per share and $21.11 billion in revenue that analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting. During its earnings call Tuesday, CEO Elon Musk revealed that the amount of time he spends with the Department of Government Efficiency will decline “significantly” beginning in May.
- Enphase Energy – The solar technology company’s stock fell nearly 11% after missing Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations. CEO Badri Kothandaraman said tariffs will hurt the company’s battery business, which sources from China. Enphase sees tariffs reducing its gross margin by about 2% in the second quarter.
Read here for the full list.
— Sean Conlon
Boeing shares rise after first-quarter report shows narrowing losses
Shares of Boeing rose more than 4% in premarket trading after the aerospace company reported a narrower loss for its latest quarter.
Boeing said it had a net loss of $31 million in the first quarter, improving from a $355 million loss in the same period last year.
The results topped Wall Street expectations. The loss of 49 cents per share was better than the estimated $1.18 loss, according to FactSet. Revenue of $19.50 billion also topped projections of $19.38 billion, according to FactSet.
CEO Kelly Ortberg also said that the company will ask the Federal Aviation Administration to approve increased production of 737 Max jets.
— Jesse Pound, Leslie Josephs
Copper futures trade at highest level since April 3, boosted by hopes of easing U.S.-China trade tensions
Copper’s May-dated futures hit a high of 4.932, its highest level since April 3, when the metal traded as high as 5.0.
Copper was boosted by hopes of trade tensions between the U.S. and China easing, as both nations have indicated their openness to negotiations.
The Global X Copper Miners (COPX) ETF was up 1.9% in Wednesday’s premarket trading hours, and is pacing for a 4.5% weekly gain.
— Gina Francolla, Lisa Kailai Han
China indicates openness to trade talks with U.S.
In the latest development on potential de-escalation of the global trade war, China signaled that it was open to trade talks with the U.S.
However, the nation also underscored that it would not negotiate if the U.S. continued to make threats.
“China’s attitude towards the tariff war launched by the U.S. is quite clear: We don’t want to fight, but we are not afraid of it. If we fight, we will fight to the end; if we talk, the door is wide open,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, according to Dow Jones.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Morgan Stanley calls RTX sell-off ‘overdone’
Morgan Stanley see an opportunity for investors in RTX after Tuesday’s sell-off.
Analyst Kristine Liwag upgraded shares of the defense stock to overweight from equal-weight. Liwag’s $135 price target reflects 18.7% upside over Tuesday’s close.
Liwag’s call comes after shares dropped nearly 10% on Tuesday. Executive comments about the impact of tariffs appeared to overshadow a better-than-expected earnings report for the first-quarter.
“We see risk reward skew more positive after yesterday’s pullback,” Liwag wrote to clients in her upgrade, in which she also called the stock’s decline “overdone.”
RTX shares popped 2% in premarket trading on Wednesday. The stock is down almost 2% year to date.
— Alex Harring
Trump hints that China tariffs could come down
President Donald Trump late Tuesday said he’s willing to take a less confrontational approach to trade talks with China, noting that the current 145% tariff on Chinese imports is “very high, and it won’t be that high. … No, it won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.”
This is a departure from the stern rhetoric on U.S.-China trade coming from the White House in recent weeks. These tensions have contributed to U.S. markets tumbling this month. The S&P 500 is down 5% in April.
— Fred Imbert
AT&T rises after reaffirming full-year earnings guidance
AT&T shares popped more than 3% after the telecom giant maintained its full-year earnings guidance, which puts the company’s bottom line in a range of $1.97 per share and $2.07 per share, excluding certain items. The company also reported first-quarter figures that were about in line with analyst expectations, based on a FactSet consensus.
— Fred Imbert
Bitcoin ETFs see their biggest day since January 17
Exchange-traded funds tracking the price of bitcoin saw a spike in inflows as interest in the cryptocurrency’s potential as a hedge strengthened amid continued stock market turbulence and a diving dollar.
Bitcoin ETFs logged $936.43 million in daily inflows Tuesday, their biggest day since Jan. 17., according to data from SoSoValue. The action was led by the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund.
Tuesday was the third consecutive trading session to see positive flows for bitcoin ETFs, and the fifth positive day in the last six.
— Tanaya Macheel
Hong Kong stocks lead gains in Asia on hopes of de-escalation in U.S.-China tensions
Asia-Pacific markets climbed Wednesday, after all three key benchmarks on Wall Street advanced overnight on optimism that U.S.-China trade tensions could ease.
This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that final tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. “won’t be anywhere near as high as 145%.” However, he added that the duties “won’t be 0%.”
Trump also said he has “no intention” to fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell before his term ends, alleviating investors’ concerns over the central bank’s independence.
Hong Kong stocks led gains in the region. The Hang Seng Index soared 2.37% to end the day at 22,072.62, while the Hang Seng Tech Index surged 3.07% to 5,049.40. Meanwhile, Mainland China’s CSI 300 index ended the day flat at 3,786.88.
Over in Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 advanced 1.89% to end the day at 34,868.63, while the broader Topix index added 2.06% to 2,584.32.
In South Korea, the Kospi index ended the day 1.57% higher at 2,525.56 while the small-cap Kosdaq increased 1.39% to 726.08.
India’s benchmark Nifty 50 moved up 0.52% while the broader BSE Sensex was up 0.45% as at 2.31 p.m. Indian Standard Time.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.33% to end the day at 7,920.50.
— Amala Balakrishner
Trump says he doesn’t plan to get rid of Fed Chair Jerome Powell
President Donald Trump said that he has “no intention” of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
When asked whether he had intentions of removing the central bank leader, Trump said, “None whatsoever.” The president spoke at the Oval Office late Tuesday.
Stock futures opened sharply higher after Trump’s comments, with Dow futures surging 500 points.
Powell’s term as Fed chair will end in May 2026.
—Kevin Breuninger, Darla Mercado
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours
Check out some of the companies making headlines in extended trading:
- Tesla — Shares were marginally lower in extended trading after first-quarter results missed analysts’ estimates on the top and bottom lines. The electric vehicle company earned an adjusted 27 cents per share on revenue of $19.34 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG were looking for 39 cents per share in earnings and $21.11 billion in revenue.
- Enphase Energy — The energy technology company sank more than 12% after first-quarter results missed Wall Street estimates. Enphase reported adjusted earnings of 68 cents per share on revenue of $356 million, while analysts surveyed by LSEG forecast earnings of 70 cents per share and $361 million in revenue. The low end of Enphase’s second-quarter revenue outlook also fell short of analysts’ estimates.
- Intuitive Surgical — The biotechnology stock lost almost 6%. The company warned that its non-GAAP gross profit margin for 2025 will range from 65% to 66.5% of revenue, down from 69.1% in 2024, reflecting estimated effects from tariffs. The outlook overshadowed beats on the top and bottom lines for the first quarter.
Read the full list here.
— Brian Evans
Stock futures rise
Stock futures were higher on Tuesday, as investors looked to extend gains for U.S. equities seen earlier in the day.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 added 1.4%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1.8%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 486 points, or 1.2%.
— Brian Evans
0 Comments