US Stock Market Close: S&P 500 Rises for Sixth Consecutive Day, Investors Expect Trump to Adjust Tariff Policies

On Tuesday, US Eastern Time, the three major US stock indices closed higher after a volatile session as investors assessed the latest round of corporate earnings, economic data, and changes in trade policies.

US Secretary of Commerce Lutnick stated on the same day that he had reached a trade agreement with an unnamed country. "I have a trade agreement, agreement, agreement, agreement. But I need to wait for their leaders and their parliament to approve it, and I expect it to be approved soon." This trade agreement will be the first one reached by the current Trump administration. However, Lutnick refused to disclose which country it was.

Trump later revealed that tariff negotiations with India were "going well," and he believed that the US was on the verge of reaching a trade agreement with India.

In addition, Lutnick claimed that Trump would sign an executive order on Tuesday, exempting manufacturers producing cars in the US from some tariffs, giving them time to bring their parts supply chains back home. However, automakers' stocks showed relatively little reaction to the potential tariff reductions.

Anthony Saglimbene, Chief Market Strategist at Ameriprise Financial, said that much of the economic data would be mixed, and it might be difficult to discern the impact of tariffs in the next one to two months. "The companies most affected by tariffs are doing what we expected them to do—either cutting their earnings forecasts or suspending them."

As Trump's erratic policies sparked fears of an economic recession, the US Consumer Confidence Index fell for the fifth consecutive month, reaching its lowest level since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data released by The Conference Board showed that the Consumer Confidence Index dropped 7.9 points to 86.0 in April, below the expected 87.5 and the previous 93.9. Tariffs have now become the top concern for consumers, with an increasing number of Americans also worried about a potential economic recession. The proportion of consumers expecting a recession in the next 12 months has reached its highest level in two years.

Andrew Brenner of NatAlliance Securities said, "Many are still predicting a recession and that the stock market will fall further, but we believe that for stocks, the 'Trump put' is real, and for the economy, the 'Fed put' is real. While it's difficult to judge the market's peaks and troughs, we think the worst is behind us."

HSBC strategists Alastair Pinder and Dmitriy Leskin said, "On the positive side, while the Trump administration has triggered market volatility, the so-called 'Trump put' is becoming increasingly evident, and there has been more discussion recently about de-escalation and reaching trade agreements. On the negative side, discussions about a recession are also intensifying. Although some of this has already been priced in, we believe it does limit upside potential."

Market Dynamics

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 300.03 points, or 0.75%, to 40,527.62; the Nasdaq Composite gained 95.18 points, or 0.55%, to 17,461.32; and the S&P 500 Index advanced 32.08 points, or 0.58%, to 5,560.83.

Most US sector ETFs closed higher, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund up 1.04%, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund up 0.47%, the Global X Internet of Things ETF up 0.95%, the SPDR S&P Bank ETF and the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF each up at least 0.9%, the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund up 0.71%, the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF up 0.45%, and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF down 0.17%, and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund down 0.29%.

Among the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 Index, the Financial sector rose 0.97%, the Health Care sector rose 0.49%, the Real Estate sector rose 0.73%, the Industrial sector rose 0.64%, and the Energy sector fell 0.37%.

Performance of Popular Stocks

Most major tech stocks closed higher, with Tesla rising over 2%, Netflix up more than 1%, and Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Meta rising slightly; Google and Amazon fell slightly.

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk said that as its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy is no longer in short supply in the US, the company will sell the drug through telehealth platforms Hims & Hers Health, Ro, and LifeMD to expand its accessibility. Boosted by this news, Hims & Hers closed up more than 23% on Tuesday, and Novo Nordisk's stock price also rose 4%.

NXP Semiconductors' shares plunged nearly 7% after releasing quarterly earnings and announcing the appointment of a new CEO, with the company warning that tariff threats created an "extremely uncertain environment."

Popular Chinese ADRs closed mixed, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index down 0.3%. XPeng Motors fell over 6%, Luckin Coffee fell over 3%, KE Holdings, NIO, and Baidu fell more than 1%; New Oriental Education rose over 4%, Futu Holdings and CHAGEE rose more than 2%.

Company News

[Meta Launches Standalone AI App to Create Personalized Intelligent Assistant]

On Tuesday local time, US tech giant Meta launched a standalone AI application to compete with popular chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, marking the first step in Meta's efforts to create a more personalized AI assistant. The AI assistant, named Meta AI, is based on the company's large language model, Llama 4, and has previously been used in various Meta social applications, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. With this new standalone app, users can directly access Meta AI without going through other Meta products.

[Starbucks Q2 Revenue $8.8 Billion, Below Market Expectations]

Starbucks reported Q2 revenue of $8.8 billion, below market expectations of $8.86 billion and compared to $8.56 billion in the same period last year. Same-store sales in the second quarter fell 1%, compared to analysts' expectations of a 0.59% decline; same-store sales in North America in the second quarter fell 1%, compared to analysts' expectations of a 0.44% decline; same-store sales internationally in the second quarter rose 2%, compared to analysts' expectations of a 0.71% decline; same-store sales in China in the second quarter were flat, compared to analysts' expectations of a 2.27% decline.

[Intel Updates Foundry Roadmap: 18A Process to Enter Mass Production This Year, 14A Also Makes Progress]

On Tuesday local time, Intel held its Foundry Direct Connect event. New CEO Chen Liewu pledged in front of thousands of industry chain customers that the company would continue to invest in its foundry business. Intel also publicly released its latest process technology roadmap on Tuesday. The highly anticipated 18A (1.8-nanometer) process has now entered the risk production phase and is expected to enter mass production this year. Intel also announced that the next-generation 14A process technology after 18A will enter the risk production phase around 2027. The new process is expected to bring a 15%-20% improvement in energy efficiency and a 1.3x increase in chip density.

[Amazon Forced to Terminate Plan to Display Tariff Impact on Product Pages]

The White House launched an aggressive attack on Amazon. On Tuesday morning, after Amazon considered displaying additional tariff costs for certain products, Trump called Amazon founder Bezos to express his dissatisfaction with the move. There had been reports that Amazon's shopping website would soon display the impact of US tariff policies on product prices next to the total price of each item. At a Tuesday press conference, White House Press Secretary Levitt called the move "hostile and political," adding that she had discussed the matter with Trump earlier.