US stocks were mixed on Tuesday as investors fielded a rush of fresh earnings reports and waited for the Trump administration to ease up on tariffs for automakers.
The S&P 500 (^gspc) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) were up by about 0.1% after trading in the red earlier in the session. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose about 0.5%, looking to extend its longest win streak of 2025.
The Trump administration will act on Tuesday to ease the impact of its auto tariffs by effectively making sure US carmakers already paying tariffs aren’t charged other levies such as on steel, officials said.
That has sparked optimism for a further dial-down in trade tensions, after President Trump’s upbeat tone on trade negotiations, particularly with China, helped stocks climb back from sharp intra-session losses on Monday.
But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent again on Tuesday put the onus on China, saying the tit-for-tat tariffs between the countries were not sustainable for China. He also would not confirm whether Trump had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Meanwhile, Amazon (AMZN) came under fresh scrutiny from the White House after reports that it would show tariff price increases in product price tags. The White House called the move a “hostile and political act.” Shares fell.
Earnings took the spotlight with a flood of releases Tuesday morning. General Motors (GM) delayed its earnings conference call until Thursday, leaving room to reflect any White House tariff news on Tuesday. While GM posted a first-quarter earnings beat before the bell, the biggest of the Big Three US automakers put its forward 2025 guidance on hold as it grapples with the fallout from the US trade offensive.
Spotify (SPOT) and Coca-Cola (KO) were also among the closely watched companies reporting before the bell, with the focus on Trump’s tariffs and whether companies are exposed or sheltered from their impact. Starbucks (SBUX) is expected to report results after the market closes.
Consumer confidence declined for the fifth straight month, with the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for April coming in at 86, short of the 88 expected by economists and a significant drop from March’s 92.9 reading.
Job openings slid in March and are hovering near a more than four-year low as the labour market continued to show signs of cooling.
