Stocks once again recovered from an early slump to end Wednesday’s trading mostly higher, adding to the gains posted in the previous session. The major averages climbed well off their lows to end the day firmly in positive territory.
The major averages gave back ground in early afternoon trading but moved back to the upside going into the close. The Nasdaq advanced 151.16 points or 0.9 percent to 7,601.05, the S&P 500 (SPI:SP500) climbed 37.90 points or 0.7 percent to 5,670.97 and the Dow rose 235.36 points or 0.6 percent to 42,225.32.
The early weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners.
Trump is scheduled to announce the new tariffs in a Rose Garden event shortly after the close of trading, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicating the new levies will be “effective immediately.”
Reports suggested Trump’s team were still finalizing the details of the plan in the hours leading up to the announcement, although a White House official told CNBC’s Megan Cassella the president has now made a final decision on how he wants to proceed.
However, as was seen in the two previous sessions, traders seemed to see the early slump as an opportunity to pick up stocks at reduced levels, leading to the subsequent rebound.
In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of March.
ADP said private sector employment jumped by 155,000 jobs in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 84,000 jobs in February.
Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 105,000 jobs compared to the addition of 77,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The Commerce Department also released a separate report showing factory orders increased by slightly more than anticipated in the month of February.
Sector News
Airline stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index surging by 2.3 percent after ending Tuesday’s trading at its lowest closing level in over six months.
Significant strength also emerged among networking stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.
Banking, retail and housing stocks also saw notable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.1 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi fell by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slid by 0.7 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries turned lower over the course of the session after seeing early strength. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 4.0 basis points to 4.196 percent after hitting a low of 4.110 percent.
Looking Ahead
Trading on Thursday is likely to be driven by reaction to Trump’s tariff announcement, while reports on weekly jobless claims, the U.S. trade deficit and service sector activity may also attract attention.
SOURCE: RTTNEWS