Stocks pared gains on Wednesday with tech leading the way lower after President Trump spoke about his tariff plans at a cabinet meeting Wednesday afternoon as investors also braced for Nvidia’s (NVDA) crucial earnings report due out after the bell.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) pared gains to dip below the flatline after rising as much as 1% earlier in the session after consecutive sharp losses for the index. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell as much as 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) led losses, falling as much as 0.6% on Wednesday afternoon.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD), which has been retreating from its post-election highs and trading at its lowest levels since November, also took a leg lower with stocks on Wednesday, losing as much as 3% to fall below $85,000.
The leg lower in stocks and risk assets came after President Trump said tariffs against the EU would include 25% on autos among other goods, while levies against Mexico and Canada will go into effect on April 2.
Tech stocks pare gains as investors prepare for Nvidia earnings
Tech stocks pared gains on Wednesday afternoon after President Trump referenced tariffs against the European Union during a cabinet meeting.
All eyes were on Nvidia (NVDA) which will report earnings after the bell. Shares of the AI chip giant traded just 2% higher after rising as much as 5% earlier in the session.
EV maker Tesla (TSLA) dropped as much as 3% to hit a session low. Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) fell more than 1.5% while iPhone maker Apple (AAPL) also dropped 3% to hit a session low.
On Wednesday afternoon President Trump said tariffs against the EU would amount to 25%, mentioning specifically auto imports, though more details are expected to come out soon.
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Stocks lose momentum as Trump threatens new tariffs on EU
The major gauges lost momentum Wednesday afternoon as President Trump said he was working on imposing new tariffs on imports from the EU.
In a cabinet meeting Wednesday Trump said the tariffs would amount to 25% and would be announced soon. The president said the levies would be applied generally and specifically mentioned car imports.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slipped just under the flatline, reversing earlier gains and was on track to add onto two back-to-back losing sessions. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost around 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gave up 0.6%.
Today at 6:00 PM UTC
AppLovin shares tumble on short seller reports
AppLovin was a top trending ticker on Yahoo Finance after two short sellers targeted the stock, sending shares down as much as 20% before they recouped some of those losses by mid-afternoon trade.
The short-selling firms Culper Research and Fuzzy Panda Research each published bearish reports regarding the mobile tech company, which had been on a hot streak to kick off the year.
Prior to Wednesday’s steep sell-off, shares had been up over 20% year to date. The initial declines shaved off approximately $32 billion from its market cap.
Wall Street analysts remain bullish on the stock with 21 Buy ratings, 6 Holds, and no Sells, according to Bloomberg data.
Today at 5:15 PM UTC
Nvidia set to report earnings after the bell. Here’s what to expect.
Tech staged a recovery on Wednesday after back-to-back session declines, with Nvidia (NVDA) up over 4% ahead of its earnings and Meta (META) rising over 3%. Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) also increased by more than 1%.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) prices rose a modest 1% to trade around $87,500 after the cryptocurrency suffered its biggest one-day percentage drop in nearly seven months on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, yields on the 10-year Treasury held steady at some of its lowest levels of the year at around 4.3%.
Today at 3:15 PM UTC
New home sales slump in January amid elevated mortgage rates
Housing activity for new residential construction started the year lower as high mortgages pushed buyers to the sidelines.
Sales of new homes slumped 10.5% in January to a seasonally adjusted rate of 657,000 units, down from December’s revised rate of 734,000, according to Census Bureau data released on Wednesday. That was much lower than Bloomberg consensus expectations for a pace of 680,000.
Some house hunters have resisted purchasing due to expensive borrowing costs. Mortgage rates topped 7% in January and remain within the same range.
High homeownership costs have influenced builders to sweeten the deal for budget-conscious house hunters.
PulteGroup (PHM) CEO Ryan Marshall told investors and analysts on their fourth quarter earnings call in late January that “affordability is probably the one headwind that’s out there, but I continue to think that the economy will figure out ways to solve for that.”
Still, would-be buyers are dealing with high home prices. The median sales price of new homes rose to $446,300 from $427,000 in January.
Today at 3:15 PM UTC
General Motors stock pops on news of $6B share buyback, dividend boost
Tech stocks led the broader markets higher on Wednesday as investors awaited Nvidia’s (NVDA) crucial earnings report, due after the bell.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose around 0.4%, looking to make a comeback after two back-to-back losing sessions. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) added around 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) inched up roughly 0.1%.
DJI – Free Realtime Quote•USD
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Today at 2:15 PM UTC
10 assets more than 10% off their 52-week highs
Some of the recent sell-offs in formerly high-flying names have been quite pronounced, Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi writes.
Highly valued “Magnificent Seven” names, with the exception of Apple (AAPL) and Meta (META), are off their 52-week highs by 19.5% on average, according to data crunched by Yahoo Finance. Crypto names have also suffered recently, despite the perception that the Trump administration will be favorable to the industry.
Here are 10 assets that are more than 10% off their 52-week highs:
Nvidia’s post-earnings reactions don’t always align with the big picture
Investors are eagerly awaiting Nvidia’s quarterly results to see if the AI giant’s earnings point to continuing euphoria or market discomfort. However, as Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre writes, the initial reaction to Nvidia’s results may not indicate the full picture of AI trends to come.
Lowe’s reports Q4 earnings beat, same-store sales growth turns positive for the first time in two years
The start of 2025 appears to be heading in the right direction for home improvement retailer, Lowe’s (LOW), which beat Wall Street estimates for its Q4 earnings report, released on Wednesday.
Lowe’s stock was up 4% in premarket trading today.
Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax-cut plan in focus after House vote
Treasury yields are ticking higher as investors assess the chance of Trump’s deep tax cuts actually becoming reality following a successful House vote.
The Republican-controlled chamber voted narrowly late Tuesday to send the president’s tax-cut and border security plans to the Senate, keeping his pledges alive.
The 217-214 vote in favor came after hours of lobbying holdouts by House Speaker Mike Johnson and colleagues. But the measure is just a preliminary step toward delivering on the $4.5 trillion plan for tax cuts.
Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul reports on the challenges facing Trump:
House Republicans have taken the first step to keeping Donald Trump’s push for “one big beautiful bill” alive this week with a budget resolution that will set the parameters of any deal.
But the challenge remains of making space for even a sliver of Trump’s 17 different tax cut ideas.
Even the smallest estimates of Trump’s varied tax promises put the tab at about $10 billion. The higher-side projections amount to much more: almost $18 trillion in new red ink over the coming decade.
Meanwhile, Johnson and his colleagues are putting aside space for, at most, $4.5 trillion for tax cuts as part of an overall bill that would be paired with about $1.5 trillion in spending cuts.
Today at 11:28 AM UTC
Super Micro stock skyrockets after filing deadline is met
Super Micro shares were setting up to stage a roaring comeback on Wednesday after a rough patch that saw the server maker delay making SEC filings and face accusations of improper accounting.
Copper soars in the US as Trump signals potential new tariffs
Copper futures (HG=F) prices leapt 4.5% on markets opening after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to investigate the impact of duties on all forms of Copper import.
