U.S. stock markets closed higher on Tuesday on anticipation of positive news on trade and tariffs related negotiations. Market participants also weighed several mixed economic data. All three major stock indexes ended in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.8% or 300.03 points to close at 40,527.62. The blue-chip index posted a six-day winning streak, for the first time since July 2024. Notably, 25 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory and 5 finished in negative zone.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 17,461.32, rising 0.6% due to strong performance of technology bigwigs. The major gainer of the tech-laden index was Cadence Design Systems Inc. CDNS. The stock price of the leading electronics systems designer climbed 5.8%. Cadence Design Systems currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The S&P 500 was up 0.6% to finish at 5,560.83. The benchmark posted a six-day winning run, for the first time since November 2024. 10 out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory and one in negative zone.
The Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF), the Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB), the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) rose 1%, 0.8%, 0.8% and 0.8%, respectively.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 3.9% to 24.17. A total of 20.02 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, higher than the last 20-session average of 19.46 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 2.38-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.55-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
Expectations for Trade Negotiations
On April 29, President Donald Trump said the United States is very close to a deal with India related to trade and tariffs. Per CNBC, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said “I have a deal done, done, done, done, but I need to wait for their prime minister and their parliament to give its approval, which I expect shortly,” without naming the country. On April 28, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that India could be the first country to make a deal with the United States.
Bessent also said that United States already held “substantial talks” with Japan and South Korea regarding tariff policies. Bessent said that the Trump administration is negotiating with 17 major trading partners of the country excluding China.
Economic Data
The Department of Commerce reported that trade deficit on goods came in at a record-high of $162 billion in March. Imports soared to an all-time high of $342.7 billion. Exports were $180.7 billion.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices rose 3.9% annually in February. The 10-City Composite index saw an annual increase of 5.2%. The 20-City Composite index posted a year-over-year increase of 4.5%.
The Conference Board reported that the consumer confidence index fell to 86 in April from 92.9 in March. The consensus estimate was 87.3. The sub-index for present situation fell 0.9 point to 133.5. The sub-index for expectations dropped 12.5 points to 54.4, the lowest level since October 2011 and well below the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead.
The Department of Labor said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report that job openings fell sharply by 288,000 in March to 7.192 million. The data for February was also revised downward to 7.48 million from 7.568 million reported earlier. Hiring rose 41,000 to 5.411 million and layoffs fell 222,000 to 1.558 million.
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Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (CDNS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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