MARKET SNAPSHOT
U.S. stocks were lower, reversing early enthusiasm as trade officials said President Trump won't provide exemptions to his new global tariffs. Treasury yields were mixed as weak demand for an auction of 3-year notes helped spur a sharp selloff in longer-term bonds. Oil prices fell on demand concerns stemming from trade wars. The dollar fell while gold gained ground, snapping a three-session losing streak.
MARKET WRAPS
EQUITIES
U.S. stocks ended in a downswing, capping a volatile session that began with hopes of new-found clarity on the president's tariff policies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,461 points early -- reflecting investors' faith that the administration may deliver on talk of potential trade deals -- but closed down 0.8%. The S&P 500 fell 1.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by more than 2%, after each had rallied more than 4% earlier. The tech-heavy Nasdaq blew its biggest intraday gain since at least 1982.
"I don't think we've seen the bottoms yet," said Donald Calcagni, chief investment officer at Mercer Advisors. "We are still early innings on this whole tariff issue, and it's going to take some time to play out." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration was open to negotiating to reduce tariffs, saying the U.S. could "end up with some good deals." Later, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Trump won't provide exemptions to his new global tariffs for individual products or companies.
Earlier Tuesday, Chinese shares rebounded after a major selloff on Monday, as global trade tensions escalated. A host of state-owned companies have announced plans to boost share buybacks to stabilize the market and restore investor confidence. Consumer-related stocks led the gains.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended 1.6% higher, the Shenzhen Composite Index was 0.8% higher, and the ChiNext Price Index rose 1.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.5%.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 6% higher, marking its biggest daily percentage gain since Aug. 6. Electronics and financial stocks led the gains as hopes regarding trade talks with the U.S. grew.
Stocks in Australia gained, as the S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index gained 2.3%, snapping a three-session losing streak.
Stocks in New Zealand rose, as the S&P/NZX 50 Index added 1%, snapping a two-session losing streak.
COMMODITIES
Crude oil futures gave up early gains and fell for a fourth straight session as continuing trade wars added to concerns about loss of demand.
West Texas Intermediate settled down 1.8% at $59.58 a barrel, and Brent crude fell 2.2% to $62.82 a barrel.
"Unfortunately for crude oil, tariff demand destruction is only half of the problem," said Mizuho's Robert Yawger, pointing to the OPEC+ decision to add more than 400,000 barrels a day to output next month on top of this month's 138,000 barrels a day increase. OPEC and the IEA are likely to cut their demand estimates in next week's monthly reports, he added.
Front-month Comex April gold gained 0.6% to $2,968.40 per ounce, snapping a three-session losing streak.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
Canada Says 25% Tariff on U.S. Autos to Kick in Starting Wednesday
OTTAWA-Canada said its 25% tariff on U.S.-made vehicles that are not compliant with the North American trade deal would take effect on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Mark Carney had said last week this duty was in the offing, and it was in response to the Trump administration's 25% tariff on all foreign-made cars, including from its northern neighbor and partner in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade treaty that was renegotiated during Trump's first term. Under USMCA terms, vehicles can be shipped duty free so long as three-quarters of the components used originate from North America.
Canada is the U.S.'s largest export market for cars, and officials estimate that about 8% of the 750,000 vehicles shipped to Canada are not compliant with the trade treaty.
Justice Department Scales Back Crypto Enforcement
The Justice Department is scaling back prosecutors' ability to bring criminal charges against cryptocurrency firms, in a move that could disrupt several ongoing cases and investigations.
The department will no longer bring charges against exchanges, dealers, mixing services and wallet providers "for the acts of their end users," according to a memorandum issued late Monday by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Prosecutors have sometimes charged crypto startups whose services were used by money launderers or people in countries subject to U.S. sanctions such as Iran.
The new policy underscores the Justice Department's move to align with President Trump's affinity for crypto products. Trump in January said his administration would support the growth of the crypto industry, which for years has clashed with regulators and prosecutors over its scanty compliance with investor-protection and illicit-finance rules.
Trump Turns Screws on China, Leaves Door Open to Deals With Other Countries
WASHINGTON-President Trump hit back hard against China but left the door open for talks to lower tariffs on other countries, trade-war moves that left much of the world confused as countries raced to avoid damaging new duties on their goods.
"They can both be true," Trump said Monday when asked whether the tariffs are permanent or up for negotiation.
Trump's comments leave countries and industries to fend for themselves ahead of his self-imposed deadline Wednesday for imposing steep duties on nations such as China, Japan and Vietnam. More than 50 countries have reached out to the White House in recent days to try to cut a deal with Trump, officials said, putting the president in the middle of a global rush to placate him.
CEOs Break Silence on Trump Trade War
The reality of a global trade war is starting to push corporate bosses to do what they tried for months to avoid: criticize President Trump's policies.
In the days after Trump announced the sweeping levies last week, chief executives stuck to privately channeling their frustrations to trade groups and lobbyists. Some hastily arranged new meetings on trade with Trump officials, sometimes receiving unsatisfying answers, executives and corporate advisers say.
Now, after a three-day market selloff and warnings from Wall Street titans such as Bill Ackman and Jamie Dimon, more business leaders are openly voicing concern.
Apple Stock Is Dropping. Trump Wants iPhones to Be Built in U.S.
President Donald Trump is serious about wanting Apple to manufacture iPhones in the U.S.
On Tuesday, when asked by a reporter if Trump wants iPhones to be made domestically, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt replied: "Absolutely. He believes we have the labor, we have the workforce, we have the resources to do it."
Late Tuesday, Apple shares fell by 2.6% to $176.72. Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the remarks.
Walgreens Sales Rise on U.S. Retail Pharmacy Segment Growth
Walgreens Boots Alliance posted higher sales in its latest quarter on growth in retail pharmacy sales in the U.S., one of the last quarterly results the company will report to the public ahead of its transition to a private company.
The pharmacy chain narrowed its loss to $2.85 billion, or $3.30 a share, for the second quarter ended Feb. 28, from $5.91 billion, or $6.85 a share, in the prior-year period.
Stripping out certain one-time items, earnings came in at 63 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 53 cents a share.
Expected Major Events for Wednesday
02:00/NZ: Reserve Bank of New Zealand Monetary Policy Review
03:00/SKA: Mar Economic Trends, including household loans, money supply index Lf
05:00/JPN: Mar Consumer Confidence Survey
06:00/JPN: Mar Preliminary Machine Tool Orders
23:50/JPN: Mar Bank Lending
23:50/JPN: Mar Corporate Goods Price Index
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 08, 2025 16:58 ET (20:58 GMT)
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