US close: Stocks rise for sixth day as trade fears ease
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Tuesday 29 Apr 2025
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks finished higher for the sixth straight day on the back of reported progress in recent US trade talks, as investors digested a long list of economic data releases and corporate earnings.
The Dow rose 0.8% while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both gained 0.6%, as markets continued to claw their way back to pre-Liberation Day levels.
"The S&P is ripping higher, clocking in a six-day surge north of 8%, putting it on pace for its best winning run since Q1 2022. That's despite a macro minefield littered with crumbling consumer confidence, wobbly labour data, and uncertainty around earnings rollouts from marquee names," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said in a CNBC interview that he had reached a deal with an undisclosed country, while treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the administration was making progress on negotiations with India, South Korea and Japan.
Sentiment was also lifted after Trump softened the impact on carmakers from his tariff regime. The president confirmed that auto tariffs would not stretch to steel and aluminium imports, easing certain sector-specific fears and pushing shares in US-based carmakers mostly higher.
Nevertheless, Lukman Otunuga, senior market analyst at FXTM, cautioned investors to tread carefully ahead of a busy few days for financial markets.
"This week could set the tone for the months ahead. Trade developments, big tech earnings, and critical US economic indicators are all converging at once. Investors should brace for heightened market volatility, particularly across equities, forex, and commodities," Otunuga said.
Market participants were also patiently awaiting quarterly earnings reports from several big-tech firms, with Meta Platforms and Microsoft slated to report on Wednesday, while Apple and Amazon were scheduled to release their latest quarterly numbers on Thursday.
Data barrage kicks off
In economic news on Tuesday, US consumer confidence dropped for the fifth straight month to its lowest level since May 2020. The Conference Board's sentiment gauge declined 7.9 points to 86.0 in April, missing the 78.3 consensus forecast.
US job openings at a seasonally adjusted pace of 3.9% in March to 7.192m, short of the 7.5m consensus estimate, while February's figures were revised lower. Hiring however was up by 0.8% when compared with February to reach 5.411m.
The US trade deficit in goods increased sharply in March, up to $162.0bn in March for the widest on record, and above consensus estimates for a reading of a $146.0bn, according to an advance estimate from the Census Bureau.
US wholesale inventories rose by 0.5% month-on-month to $908.0bn in March, according to preliminary numbers from the Census Bureau, matching February's increase but falling short of market expectations for a 0.7% gain.
Lastly, S&P Case-Shiller's home price index increased to 335.08 points in February, up from 332.72 points in January.
Earnings in focus
General Motors slipped despite beating quarterly profit expectations as the Chevrolet and Buick maker withdrew its FY guidance as a result of tariff uncertainty. The company also suspended further stock buybacks as it looks to deal with cost increases associated with said levies.
Coca-Cola edged higher after topping both earnings and revenue estimates and claiming that the effects of the current global trade spat to be "manageable".
Shipping courier UPS was in the red as investors shrugged off forecast-beating first-quarter earnings, and focused on the news of 20,000 job cuts and the planned closure of multiple buildings. The moves were being taken to offset an expected reduction in Amazon volumes and economic uncertainty stemming from tariffs.
A number of other household names were making moves after publishing their first-quarter earnings: Spotify missed estimates with profits; Royal Caribbean gained as stronger-than-expected profits outweighed a miss on revenues; while Honeywell jumped as both top and bottom lines smashed estimates.
In other news, the Trump administration took aim at Amazon on Tuesday for reportedly planning to display the impact of so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs next to the total price of products on its website. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move was a "hostile and political act" by Amazon, whose shares finished slightly lower.
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