U.S. stocks ended mostly higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq snapping their four-day losing streak, as investors digested the latest comments from President Donald Trump on tariffs. However, the Dow ended in negative territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 04% or 188.04 points, to finish at 43,433.12 points and record its first decline in three sessions.
The S&P 500 rose 0.01% or 0.81 points, to end at 5,956.06 points. Tech stocks were the biggest gainers, while consumer staples stocks were the worst performers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) gained 1.1%, while the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) lost 1.9%. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) added 0.4%. Eight of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.3% or 44.88 points to close at 19,075.26 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 1.70% to 19.10. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.13-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.31-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues. A total of 14.58 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 15.4 billion.
Stocks staged a comeback on Tuesday and rallied in the initial hours. However, stocks lost ground in the afternoon after Trump announced his latest tariff plans. The President said on Wednesday that he would soon announce 25% tariffs on goods imported from the European Union.
However, Trump also said that he would delay the proposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico by another month. The tariffs were initially halted for a month in early February and would have taken effect on March 1 but will have been pushed back to April 2.
Investors closely watched the movement of NVIDIA Corporation’s (NVDA) shares ahead of its earnings report after the bell. NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The launch of China’s low-cost AI model DeepSeek in January raised questions about the hefty investments being made by U.S. tech companies. Any positive comment from NVIDIA will boost investors’ sentiment and the stocks of companies investing in AI.
Stocks are coming off a weak session after fresh data on Tuesday showed consumer confidence plummeted to a four-year low as concerns grew over the economy’s health. This came after a batch of disappointing economic data released over the past week dented investors’ sentiment.
