U.S. stocks dipped in early trading on Tuesday after President Trump moved forward with his threat to impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
The Nasdaq Composite traded 0.3% lower shortly after markets opened, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were each off 0.2%. The major indexes rose yesterday as AI stock rallied and investors shook off Trump’s tariff threats.
The tariffs enacted by Trump on Monday evening will apply to all steel and aluminum imports and are slated to go into effect on March 12. Shares of American steelmakers like Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) and Steel Dynamics (STLD) rose for a second consecutive day.
Earnings season chugged along on Tuesday, with better-than-expected results from Coca-Cola (KO) lifting its stock 4% in early trading. Among the other stocks moving on earnings results were DuPont (DD), up 5% on strong results, and Shopify (SHOP), also up 5% after topping estimates. AI chipmaker Astera Labs (ALAB) shares were little changed despite blowing past earnings estimates.
Investors will be watching Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s biannual testimony to Congress on Tuesday morning. Powell will update the Senate at 10 a.m. ET on the state of the U.S. economy and progress on the Fed’s mission to return inflation to its 2% target. He’ll return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to address the House of Representatives. The Fed Chair is likely to be grilled on the central bank’s recent policy decisions, including the choice to pause interest rate cuts last month.
Treasury yields climbed on Tuesday as investors reacted to Trump’s steel tariffs, which some economists say threaten to turn up the heat on inflation. The 10-year Treasury yield, sensitive to expectations for both inflation and Fed policy, was up 4 basis points at 4.54%.
The price of Bitcoin slipped below $97,000 Tuesday morning. Gold futures pulled back to $2,925 an ounce after jumping to a record high of $2,970 overnight as investors raced to safe havens following Trump’s tariff order. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose for a second day, trading 1.5% higher at $73.50 a barrel.
Coca-Cola Stock Pops as Q4 Sales, Profit Top Estimates
36 minutes ago
Coca-Cola (KO) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results Tuesday, sending shares of the world’s biggest soft drink maker higher in premarket trading.
The beverage giant reported $11.54 billion in revenue, above the $10.85 billion posted a year ago and the $10.77 billion Visible Alpha consensus. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.55 beat last year’s $0.49 and the $0.52 expected.
Shares of Coca-Cola, which entered Tuesday up roughly 8% over the past year, rose nearly 4% in early trading.
Last quarter, Coca-Cola shares lost ground as a surprise drop in unit case volumes offset better-than-expected results. Global unit case volumes grew 2% in Q4, led by a 6% gain in the Asia Pacific region.
Coca-Cola’s results come a week after rival PepsiCo (PEP) reported sales that fell short of estimates for a third consecutive quarter.
Stock Futures Slip as Trump Enacts Steel, Aluminum Tariffs
1 hr 27 min ago
Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 0.3% in premarket trading on Tuesday.
S&P 500 futures were off nearly 0.4%.
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6%.
