S&P 500, Nasdaq end higher on Vietnam trade deal, tech stocks

STORY: U.S. stocks ended mostly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow little-changed, the S&P 500 gaining nearly half a percent and the Nasdaq adding almost 1%.

News of a trade agreement between the U.S. and Vietnam helped ease concerns about an extended trade war.

The Trump administration has teased that a deal with India is also coming soon, but has said others may not be ready by the administration’s July 9th deadline.

That could pose a problem for stocks, says Steven Schoenfeld, CEO of MarketVector Indexes.

“If the administration does not extend the July 9th deadline, and we don’t have a slew of trade agreements between now and then, I think the market will become very nervous very quickly. If the administration, as I believe they might, does extend the deadline, it will be a sigh of relief. But I don’t necessarily believe it will be a sharp rally because we still have to wait for these trade agreements to be codified.”

Stocks on the move Wednesday included Tesla, which rose 5% even as the electric vehicle maker posted a big drop in second-quarter deliveries. Some traders said the numbers were less severe than analysts’ bleak forecasts. The stock has shed more than 20% this year.

Other Magnificent 7 gainers included Nvidia, Apple and Alphabet.

But shares of Centene plunged more than 40% after the health insurer said it had withdrawn its 2025 earnings forecast after data showed a significant drop in expected revenue from its marketplace health insurance plans.

Investors now turn their attention to Thursday’s non-farm payrolls report, which arrives a day earlier than usual, with markets closed Friday for the July 4th holiday.