After concerns over a potential trade war dominated headlines earlier this week, markets shifted their focus back to earnings season on Wednesday, bringing some stability to trading.
Major stock indexes saw modest gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average leading the way, up 0.7% or 317 points. The S&P 500 followed suit with a 0.4% increase. However, investor sentiment remained cautious, as disappointing earnings reports from key companies such as Google parent Alphabet and chip maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) weighed on the tech sector. The Nasdaq Composite, which is heavily influenced by tech stocks, rose just 0.2%.
The muted trading suggests that investors have regained some composure following President Trump’s threats of broad tariffs on the U.S.’s largest trading partners. While tensions with Canada and Mexico have temporarily eased, China’s response to U.S. tariffs was seen by Wall Street as relatively measured, with new duties placed on a small subset of American products. Despite this, some analysts warned that the risk of a prolonged trade conflict may still be underestimated by investors, leaving uncertainty lingering in the market.
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