Dow closes 400 points higher, but ends session well off the highs of the day: Live updates

The major averages ended Wednesday higher, extending their rally from Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back from its high of the day, when it was up more than 1,100 points. The blue-chip index still managed to climb 419.59 points, or 1.07%, to settle at 39,606.57.

The S&P 500 added 1.67%, closing at 5,375.86, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.50% and finished at 16,708.05.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Investors may be overly pessimistic about the trajectory of U.S. stocks, according to BMO Capital Markets.

"While we understand that it has been a challenging market environment the past few months and the scope of the recent selloff has been unsettling, it is important to note that not all market indicators are signaling further downside in the months ahead, despite what some pundits may be suggesting," wrote chief investment strategist Brian Belski. "In fact, some of our most tried-and-true contrarian indicators have recently plunged to excessively negative levels, which suggests to us that a solid price rebound may be on the horizon should history be any sort of guide."

In this case, Belski suggested the best thing for investors to do might be to "maintain their discipline and 'stay the course.'"

— Lisa Kailai Han

A U.S.-China trade war could soon be temporarily coming to a halt, according to Piper Sandler.

"If Trump reversed all the tariffs except for the 20% he put into effect before Liberation Day, that would be a sign that Trump really wants to dial his tariff agenda way back. We do not expect that," analyst Andy Laperriere wrote Wednesday. "We expect a short-term truce with China that leaves tariffs much lower than 145% but still high."

The projection comes as Trump said Tuesday that tariffs on China will not be as high as 145% but "won't be zero" either.

The president has imposed tariffs on Chinese imports of 145%, with the administration saying last week that the country faces up to 245% levies on select goods. China, meanwhile, has retaliated with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods.

— Sean Conlon

Investors aren't fully taking into account the possibility of an upcoming economic slowdown, according to BCA Research.

"Advanced U.S. indicators for April continue to deteriorate, reinforcing our defensive positioning as recession risks remain underpriced," the firm wrote. "While the equity selloff has mostly reflected multiple compression, the trade shock is set to hit earnings and profitability. Regional employment also contracted, pointing to labor market deterioration beyond reduced hours."

BCA Research continued: "U.S. capex and hiring plans are plunging, setting up a drag on consumer spending, the post-COVID growth pillar. As business and consumer confidence weaken and housing remains soft, growth will slip below potential, and unemployment will rise. We remain underweight risk assets and overweight government bonds."

— Lisa Kailai Han

Tuesday's heavy trading in a popular gold fund may be a signal that the yellow metal's rally needs a breather, according to BTIG.

On Tuesday, the trading volume of SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was 35.2 million shares, the highest since March 8, 2022, according to FactSet. On a notional value basis, the day appears to have been the highest since 2013, based on the closing price of the fund.

Shares of the fund dropped 1.4% on the day, reversing some of the recent rally for gold.

"The chart below speaks for itself, but we think today likely marks a multi-week, if not multi-month inflection for gold (GLD) followed by a period of consolidation," BTIG chief market technical Jonathan Krinsky said in a note to clients.

"Parabolic moves rarely correct by moving sideways, so the downside risk is high here, in our view," he continued.

GLD was down more than 2% on Wednesday.

— Jesse Pound

The market pendulum has swung to the positive side after Trump softened his stance on China tariffs and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's tenure on Tuesday, according to Piper Sandler.

"I think of comments like these, in a period of heightened uncertainty, are akin to the good CPI reports the markets rallied on during 2022 when CPI was extremely high but beginning to incrementally improve," wrote Michael Kantrowitz, the firm's chief investment strategist. "Sure, we still have a lot of uncertainty, tariffs remain very high, and we don't know which President Trump will show up next. But, markets are priced for incremental changes in the outlook and I see this as another positive change that markets can find relief."

Kantrowitz added: "I continue to see a market that is largely driven by macro forces (i.e., Trump policy rhetoric), causing large swings in sentiment like a pendulum going back and forth."

— Lisa Kailai Han

Despite the trade war, the iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (EWW) is trading at its highest level since August 2024 and is on track for its best month since November 2023. In addition, the exchange-traded fund is on pace for its fourth positive month in a row, matching the four-month run that ended in May 2021.

On Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said there is no agreement yet with Trump after the two spoke last week about lifting tariffs. Talks between officials are ongoing, with Mexico's Ministry of Economy aiming to make progress before May 3, when tariffs on auto parts are scheduled to take effect.

— Adrian van Hauwermeiren

While tariff concerns may weigh the economy down in the near term, UBS remains more optimistic over the long run.

"We expect growth to resume later this year and into 2026 as the economy adapts. Investor sentiment should recover as confidence in the underlying fundamentals returns," wrote Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, the chief investment officer of global equities at UBS' chief investment office.

Specifically, the bank remains bullish on names with exposure to the artificial intelligence trend.

"Despite headwinds for tech, recent earnings from semi supply chain companies pointed to solid underlying AI demand, and AI adoption rates in the US have been encouraging," Hoffmann-Burchardi continued. "We remain confident in AI's growth story and expect a manageable 3-5% earnings impact on global tech companies from the tariffs."

— Lisa Kailai Han

With stocks currently "hypersensitive to incessant news flow," Wolfe Research expects "vicious" bear market rallies and continued elevated volatility in the near term.

"Although indices have not officially fallen 20% below all-time highs, the past week's price action screams 'bear market' to us with lower highs and lower lows likely for stocks," wrote chief investment strategist Chris Senyek. "Along this vein, with the market hypersensitive to economic releases and news flow, especially as further details around trade deals are revealed, we'd expect to see further violent upside rips as investors anchor and extrapolate from the latest data point."

Senyek added that within this environment, he remains defensively positioned to sectors such as consumer staples, health care and utilities.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Check out some of the companies making headlines in midday trading:

• Duolingo — Shares surged more than 9% following Morgan Stanley's initiation of the language learning platform at overweight. The bank set a Wall Street-high price target on Duolingo shares and called the stock a "best-in-class consumer internet asset."
• Tesla — Shares of the electric vehicle maker jumped about 7% despite its first-quarter earnings and revenue coming in weaker than expected. CEO Elon Musk said on the company's earnings call Tuesday that his amount of time spent with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency will decline "significantly" starting next month.
• Gildan Activewear — Shares climbed 2% after Citigroup opened a positive catalyst watch on the branded clothing stock. The firm noted Gildan's Hondurus-based manufacturing could be a way to avoid Trump's hefty "reciprocal" tariffs.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

On Wednesday, two stocks in the S&P 500 traded at new 52-week highs, while two stocks in the index traded at new lows.

Shares of Masco and Enphase Energy traded at new 52-week lows.

On the other hand, PPL traded at a new 52-week high, while Philip Morris traded at all-time highs back to its spinoff from Altria in March 2008.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Piper Sandler moved to the sidelines on Oracle.

Analyst Brent Bracelin downgraded the technology stock to neutral from overweight. Bracelin also slashed his price target by $60 to $130, which now reflects just 2.2% upside over Tuesday's close.

"We remain bullish on the next 3-5 year opportunity for ORCL but are moving to the sidelines ahead of F2026 that we see as a year of investment," Bracelin wrote to clients. "This comes at a time where investor scrutiny on AI investments has also intensified, which could temper multiple expansion in the short-run."

Oracle shares have tumbled more than 23% in 2025.

— Alex Harring

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that the U.S. still has a "strong dollar policy" but that does not mean the administration will push for the greenback to appreciate against other currencies.

"To me the strong dollar means having the policies in place to deserve capital flows and have confidence, but it doesn't mean the price on the Bloomberg screen every day. And it also has different meanings in terms of bilateral prices," Bessent said.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, a popular tool to measure the dollar against a basket of other currencies, is down about 10% since President Trump's inauguration in January.

The Treasury secretary added that he believes use of the dollar comes down over time but will maintain its status as the global reserve currency during his lifetime.

"I'm not sure that anyone else wants it," Bessent said of being the nation with a reserve currency.

— Jesse Pound

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. and China have the opportunity to strike "a big deal" on trade.

During an appearance at the Institute of International Finance in Washington, D.C., he said: "If they want to rebalance, let's do it together."

"This is an incredible opportunity. I think if Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio were to write something, he could call it a beautiful rebalancing," he added.

— Dan Mangan

Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler sees tariffs posing a risk to inflation, and she expects to hold interest rates steady until that threat passes.

In a speech Tuesday evening, the central bank official said Trump's 10% across-the-board duties on imports, plus the threat of more to come, pose threats to both price stability and unemployment. However, she focused more on the inflation side.

"Still, I think our monetary policy is well positioned for changes in the macroeconomic environment," Kugler said during a speech in Minneapolis. "Thus, I will support maintaining the current policy rate for as long as these upside risks to inflation continue, while economic activity and employment remain stable."

— Jeff Cox

Manufacturing activity rose more than expected in April though services industries saw conditions tail off, according to purchasing manager surveys Wednesday from S&P Global.

The firm's "flash" PMI for manufacturing hit a reading of 50.7 for the month, just above the breakeven level of 50 for expansion. That was a slight increase from the upwardly revised 50.2 in March and better than the Dow Jones estimate for 49.5.

On services, the index fell to 51.4, down from 54.5 and below the forecast for 52.8.

Respondents in both surveys noted inflationary effects from tariffs, but particularly on the manufacturing side. Some domestic companies linked tariffs to stronger sales, though foreign revenue slipped overall.

— Jeff Cox

Stocks rallied to kick off Wednesday's trading session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 750 points, or 2%. The S&P 500 popped 2.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 3.2%.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Check out the stocks making big moves in premarket trading Wednesday:

• Boeing — The aerospace stock rose more than 5% after the company reported a narrower loss for the first quarter. Boeing said it had a net loss of $31 million in the first quarter, improving on the $355 million loss in the same period last year. Excluding items, the loss of 49 cents per share was better than the loss of $1.18 per share expected by analysts, according to FactSet. CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company will ask the Federal Aviation Administration to approve increased production of 737 Max jets.
• Tesla — The electric vehicle maker jumped more than 7% despite its first-quarter results missing Wall Street's expectations. Tesla earned 27 cents per share after adjustments on revenue of $19.34 billion, below the 39 cents per share and $21.11 billion in revenue analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting. During its earnings call Tuesday, CEO Elon Musk revealed that the amount of time he spends with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency will decline "significantly" beginning in May.
• Enphase Energy — The solar technology company's stock fell nearly 11% after missing Wall Street's earnings and revenue expectations. CEO Badri Kothandaraman said tariffs will hurt the company's battery business, which sources from China. Enphase sees tariffs reducing its gross margin by about 2% in the second quarter.

Read here for the full list.

— Sean Conlon

Shares of Boeing rose more than 4% in premarket trading after the aerospace company reported a narrower loss for its latest quarter.

Boeing said it had a net loss of $31 million in the first quarter, improving from a $355 million loss in the same period last year.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The loss of 49 cents per share was better than the estimated loss of $1.18 per share, according to FactSet. Revenue of $19.50 billion also topped projections of $19.38 billion, according to FactSet.

CEO Kelly Ortberg also said the company will ask the Federal Aviation Administration to approve increased production of 737 Max jets.

— Jesse Pound, Leslie Josephs

Copper's May-dated futures hit a high of 4.932, its highest level since April 3, when the metal traded as high as 5.0.

Copper was boosted by hopes of trade tensions between the U.S. and China easing, as both nations have indicated their openness to negotiations.

The Global X Copper Miners ETF (COPX) was up 1.9% in Wednesday's premarket trading hours, and is pacing for a 4.5% weekly gain.

— Gina Francolla, Lisa Kailai Han

In the latest development on potential de-escalation of the global trade war, China signaled it was open to trade talks with the U.S.

However, the nation also underscored that it would not negotiate if the U.S. continued to make threats.

"China's attitude towards the tariff war launched by the U.S. is quite clear: We don't want to fight, but we are not afraid of it. If we fight, we will fight to the end; if we talk, the door is wide open," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, according to Dow Jones.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Morgan Stanley see an opportunity for investors in RTX after Tuesday's sell-off.

Analyst Kristine Liwag upgraded shares of the defense stock to overweight from equal weight. Liwag's $135 price target reflects 18.7% upside over Tuesday's close.

Liwag's call comes after shares dropped nearly 10% on Tuesday. Executive comments about the effect of tariffs appeared to overshadow a better-than-expected earnings report for the first quarter.

"We see risk reward skew more positive after yesterday's pullback," Liwag wrote to clients in her upgrade, in which she also called the stock's decline "overdone."

RTX shares popped 2% in premarket trading on Wednesday. The stock is down almost 2% year to date.

— Alex Harring

Trump late Tuesday said he is willing to take a less confrontational approach to trade talks with China, noting that the current 145% tariff on Chinese imports is "very high, and it won't be that high. … No, it won't be anywhere near that high. It'll come down substantially. But it won't be zero."

This is a departure from the stern rhetoric on U.S.-China trade coming from the White House in recent weeks. These tensions have contributed to U.S. markets tumbling this month. The S&P 500 is down 5% in April.

— Fred Imbert

AT&T shares popped more than 3% after the telecommunications giant maintained its full-year earnings guidance, which puts the company's bottom line in a range between $1.97 per share and $2.07 per share, excluding certain items. The company also reported first-quarter figures that were about in line with analysts' expectations, based on a FactSet consensus.

— Fred Imbert

Exchange-traded funds tracking the price of bitcoin saw a spike in inflows as interest in the cryptocurrency's potential as a hedge strengthened amid continued stock market turbulence and a diving dollar.

Bitcoin ETFs logged $936.43 million in daily inflows Tuesday, their biggest day since Jan. 17., according to data from SoSoValue. The action was led by the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund.

Tuesday was the third consecutive trading session to see positive flows for bitcoin ETFs, and the fifth positive day in the last six.

— Tanaya Macheel

Asia-Pacific markets climbed Wednesday, after all three key benchmarks on Wall Street advanced overnight on optimism that U.S.-China trade tensions could ease.

This comes after U.S. President Trump indicated that final tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. "won’t be anywhere near as high as 145%." However, he added that the duties "won’t be 0%."

Trump also said he has "no intention" to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell before his term ends, alleviating investors' concerns over the central bank's independence.

Hong Kong stocks led gains in the region. The Hang Seng index soared 2.37% to end the day at 22,072.62, while the Hang Seng tech index surged 3.07% to 5,049.40. Meanwhile, Mainland China's CSI 300 index ended the day flat at 3,786.88.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 advanced 1.89% to end the day at 34,868.63,while the broader Topix index added 2.06% to 2,584.32.

In South Korea, the Kospi index ended the day 1.57% higher at 2,525.56, while the small-cap Kosdaq increased 1.39% to 726.08.

India's benchmark Nifty 50 moved up 0.52%, while the broader BSE Sensex was up 0.45% as of 2:31 p.m. Indian Standard Time.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.33% to end the day at 7,920.50.

— Amala Balakrishner

President Donald Trump said he has "no intention" of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

When asked whether he had intentions of removing the central bank leader, Trump said, "None whatsoever." The president spoke at the Oval Office late Tuesday.

Stock futures opened sharply higher after Trump's comments, with Dow futures surging 500 points.

Powell's term as Fed chair will end in May 2026.

— Kevin Breuninger, Darla Mercado

Check out some of the companies making headlines in extended trading:

• Tesla — Shares were marginally lower in extended trading after first-quarter results missed analysts' estimates on the top and bottom lines. The electric vehicle company earned an adjusted 27 cents per share on revenue of $19.34 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG were looking for 39 cents per share in earnings and $21.11 billion in revenue.
• Enphase Energy — The energy technology company sank more than 12% after first-quarter results missed Wall Street estimates. Enphase reported adjusted earnings of 68 cents per share on revenue of $356 million, while analysts surveyed by LSEG forecast earnings of 70 cents per share and $361 million in revenue. The low end of Enphase's second-quarter revenue outlook also fell short of analysts' estimates.
• Intuitive Surgical — The biotechnology stock lost almost 6%. The company warned that its non-GAAP gross profit margin for 2025 will range from 65% to 66.5% of revenue, down from 69.1% in 2024, reflecting estimated effects from tariffs. The outlook overshadowed beats on the top and bottom lines for the first quarter.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

Stock futures were higher on Tuesday as investors looked to extend gains for U.S. equities seen earlier in the day.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 added 1.4%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1.8%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 486 points, or 1.2%.

— Brian Evans