US close: Stocks higher on positive trade headlines
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Wednesday 23 Apr 2025
(Sharecast News) - Major indices closed higher on Wednesday after Donald Trump revealed he did not intend to try to oust "major loser" Jerome Powell from his role as Federal Reserve chairman and that he would play "very nice" with China.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.07% at 39,606.57, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.67% to 5,375.86 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 2.50% firmer at 16,708.05.
The Dow closed 419.59 points higher on Wednesday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as news broke that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said there "will be a de-escalation" in the White House's trade war with China.
"No one thinks the current status quo is sustainable," he said. However, Bessent also stated that if America was to walk out the door of negotiations and sign "something in two or three years that looked like that", he reckons that could be considered "a huge win".
Trump also softened his stance on Beijing, admitting that the current 145% tariff on Chinese imports was "very high" and that while it "won't be that high" and that "it'll come down substantially", he also said "it won't be zero". He also indicated that he did not see a need to "play hardball".
The Wall Street Journal also reported that the White House was mulling over lowering Chinese tariffs to somewhere between 50% and 65%.
Major indices also got a boost after Trump said late on Tuesday that he has "no intention" of firing Powell, whose term will end in May 2026, despite stating the chairman's "termination cannot come fast enough" just a day earlier.
On Wednesday's macro slate, mortgage applications slumped 12.7% in the week ended 18 April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, the sharpest decline since October 2024. Applications to purchase a home were down 7%, while applications to refinance a mortgage fell 20% week-on-week.
Elsewhere, a preliminary reading of S&P Global's composite purchasing managers index fell to 51.2 in April, down from 53.5 in March to mark the slowest private sector activity growth in 16 months, with the manufacturing PMI rising to 50.7 in April from 50.2 in March and the services PMI falling to 51.4 from 54.4 in the month prior.
On another note, new home sales surged by 7.4% in March to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 724,000, according to the Census Bureau.
In the corporate space, Philip Morris hiked its FY earnings forecasts on the back of solid sales of smoke-free products, while AT&T said Q1 revenues had grown 2% on the back of strong postpaid phone and fibre subscriber growth, and Boeing also reported better-than-expected Q1 figures but noted that China has stopped taking delivery of aircraft due to the current tariff environment.
Still on earnings, Chipotle fell short of revenue estimates and issued some more cautious guidance as it warned of a "slowdown" in spending and IBM posted quarterly sales of $14.5bn, topping Wall Street estimates.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.59 7.41%
Boeing Co. (BA) $172.37 6.06%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $204.60 3.91%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $374.39 3.77%
American Express Co. (AXP) $260.14 3.06%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $250.48 2.91%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $240.88 2.25%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $245.48 1.90%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $529.31 1.79%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $296.32 1.58%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $155.38 -1.50%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $165.73 -1.28%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.70 -1.13%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $259.37 -0.85%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $73.30 -0.81%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $136.81 -0.45%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $78.74 -0.29%
3M Co. (MMM) $136.16 -0.20%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $319.00 -0.19%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $28.98 0.00%
S&P 500 - Risers
Amphenol Corp. (APH) $71.15 8.21%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.59 7.41%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $72.93 7.41%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.69 6.86%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $176.91 6.40%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $520.27 6.33%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $180.60 6.29%
Boeing Co. (BA) $172.37 6.06%
Wabtec Corp. (WAB) $182.49 5.94%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $12.34 5.83%
S&P 500 - Fallers
American Tower Corp (Reit) (AMT) $212.60 -3.79%
Masco Corp. (MAS) $59.35 -3.43%
Gen Dynamics Corp. (GD) $265.73 -3.30%
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB) $133.60 -3.28%
Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY) $170.18 -2.62%
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) $48.53 -2.59%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $53.15 -2.55%
Target Corp. (TGT) $92.15 -2.07%
Clorox Co. (CLX) $139.11 -2.06%
Chubb Corp. (CB) $284.49 -2.04%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $250.74 7.74%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.59 7.41%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $72.93 7.41%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $176.91 6.40%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $520.27 6.33%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $180.60 6.29%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $66.73 5.72%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $229.79 5.38%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $4,731.03 4.95%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $265.42 4.92%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $9.30 -2.57%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $204.48 -2.11%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $80.19 -1.24%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $67.38 -1.24%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $33.56 -0.47%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $143.73 -0.42%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $118.17 -0.36%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $27.59 -0.25%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,380.50 -0.13%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $377.74 -0.12%
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