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US stocks slipped Thursday, trimming gains from the prior day as investors reacted to shifting signals from President Trump on trade and the Fed. The moves highlight market unease amid a flood of mixed messages from the administration.
Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) fell 0.5%. Futures attached to the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) slipped 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NQ=F) inched 0.6% down.
CBOT – Delayed Quote USD
As of 4:12:48 AM EDT. Market Open.
YM=F ES=F NQ=F
On Wednesday, stocks rallied after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration is considering reducing tariffs on China. The news seemed to confirm recent comments by Trump that he was optimistic about a trade deal and duties on the country would ultimately be scaled back.
The rally lost some steam, however, when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied the report, saying there has been “no unilateral offer from the president to deescalate” the trade war with China.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
Though Wall Street cautiously welcomed signs Trump is eager to negotiate on trade, later on Wednesday, his approach to key tariffs grew more muddled.
The Financial Times reported that the Trump administration is considering exempting automakers from the most punishing auto tariffs, yet Trump said from the Oval Office that a 25% tariff on cars imported from Canada could increase.
Finally, the White House ordered a probe into truck imports, paving the way for tariffs on the sector.
On Thursday, Wall Street’s attention will shift to Alphabet earnings. While investors don’t expect the company’s results to be impacted by Trump’s trade war yet, they’ll be watching for any warning signs of how tariffs could hit the business in the near future.
Intel is also reporting earnings after-the-bell on Thursday. The results will be the company’s first under the leadership of its new CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
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Gold rebounds after biggest drop this year as dip-buyers step in
Gold (GC=F) bounced back after its biggest single-day drop of the year, as traders weighed conflicting messages from the US on China tariffs.
Bloomberg News reports:
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Dollar falters in bounce back from tariff downward dive
The dollar (DX=F) pulled back from a recent rebound late Thursday as President Donald Trump walked back his unsubstantiated threats to remove Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell from office.
Reuters reports:
After dipping below 140 yen on Tuesday, the dollar has rebounded off major chart support and was last at 143.25 yen on Thursday.
It caught an extra boost when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. did not have a specific currency target in mind, ahead of talks with his Japanese counterpart. Bessent has also said the current de-facto embargo on U.S.-China trade was unsustainable, while cautioning that the U.S. would not move first in lowering its levies of more than 100% on Chinese goods.
The dollar has recovered from a three-and-a-half-year low of $1.1572 per euro, but encountered a little selling in the Asia morning to steady around $1.1338.
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Trending tickers in after-hours trading
Chipotle (CMG)
After a rocky earnings report announcing that Chipotle missed the mark while lowering expectations for the year, Chipotle stock sank in after-hours trading. The fast food giant reported earnings of 29 cents per share and revenue of $2.88 billion falling short of the $2.94 billion analysts were looking for. The company’s stock dropped by 4% on futures opening before pulling back to a 2.3% loss in value.
International Business Machine (IBM)
IBM shares spiked before falling over 6.7% in extended trading Thursday, despite the fact that the tech giant posted better-than-expected Q1 results. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.60 per share on $14.54 billion in revenue, topping Wall Street estimates of $1.40 and $14.40 billion.
News that DOGE price saving measures led to 15 contracts between IBM and the US government being cut drove stock cost down.
Texas Instruments (TXN)
Shares of Texas Instruments surged 4.7% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the chipmaker delivered a strong first-quarter beat that reassured investors. The company posted earnings of $1.28 per share on revenue of $4.07 billion, outpacing Wall Street forecasts of $1.07 per share and $3.91 billion,
