Stan Choe, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are spinning through another volatile day of trading Tuesday, and there is still high uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on his “liberation day” coming Wednesday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% in noon trading after raiding from an early decline of 1%. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 135 points (0.3%) as of 12:18 PM Eastern time, after eliminating a 480-point morning loss. Nasdaq composites were 1.1% higher.
Wall Street has been particularly unstable these days, with momentum shaking not only on a daily basis, but also due to uncertainty about what Trump will do with tariffs, and how much worsens economic inflation and suppresses growth. For example, on Monday, the S&P 500 reached 0.6% gain from an early loss of 1.7%.
Tesla accelerated Tuesday’s rise after a 6.9% rise. But that has kept only a small portion of the sudden losses for electric vehicle manufacturers this year, down nearly a third of 2025 so far.
The Elon Musk company is scheduled to report on the number of vehicles delivered in the first three months of the year on Wednesday, and is worried about potential backlash from customers. Protesters are flocking to Tesla showrooms in anger over Musk leading the US government’s efforts to cut spending.
PVH rose 17.6% after the company behind Calvin Klein and the company behind the Tommy Hilfiger brand reported stronger profits than analysts had expected. He also said it plans to send $500 million to shareholders this year by purchasing its own shares.
In the bond market, Treasury yields sink shortly after US manufacturing activities were signed last month and reportedly violated two months of growth. Another report said US employers were advertising slightly fewer jobs at the end of February than economists expected.
Businesses say even the main event that could potentially come Wednesday, when the president announces a string of tariffs, they already feel the impact of Trump’s trade war.
“Customers are pulling orders due to concerns about ongoing tariffs and pricing pressure,” a computer and electronic product company told the Supply Management Institute during a monthly manufacturer’s survey.
“We are beginning to see slower sales in Canada and concerns about Canadians boycotting US products could become a reality,” a manufacturer in the beverage and tobacco products industry said in an ISM survey.
Certainly the economy is still growing, and the job market remains relatively solid even at a slightly weaker employment opening than expected in February.
But one fear of hitting the market is that even if Trump announces fewer export tariffs than feared, the halt and development of his trade strategy could result in US households and businesses freezing spending. Trump is partially pushing tariffs to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US from other countries.
All market tensions helped push gold prices to the record, shortly surpassing $3,175 per ounce before it went slightly lower. This is up from under $2,700 at the beginning of the year.
On Wall Street, Johnson & Johnson fell 5.3% after a US Bankruptcy Court judge denied a company’s settlement plan related to baby powder, including talc. This is the third time a company’s attempt to settle a bankruptcy baby powder settlement has been rejected by a court.
The airline’s stock continued its descent against concerns that its customers felt tense in the economy and global trade. Delta lost 2.9%, while United gave up 1.6%.
In overseas stock markets, indexes rose in most parts of Europe and Asia, recovering some of the sharp decline from the previous day.
In Europe, German DAX returned 1.7%, while French CAC 40 rose 1.1% after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the world’s biggest trade bloc would not cower in the face of US trade demands.
“Europe has many cards, from trade to technology to market size. But this strength is built on preparation for solid anti-measurements when needed,” von derreyen said. “All the instruments are on the table.”
Japan was stable as he said Trump was pleading against Japan, a longtime US ally, to prevent him from charging higher automobile fares. A central bank survey found a deterioration in business sentiment among major manufacturers.
In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.17% from 4.23% in the second half of Monday, down from around 4.80% in January. This is a major move for the bond market, with yields declining with concerns about the potential slowing down of the US economy.
This story was revised to show that PVH is buying back $500 million in shares rather than $500 billion.
AP business writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
Original issue: April 1, 2025 10:08am EDT
