Wall Street today: US stocks mixed amid trove of earnings, tariffs uncertainty

US stock indices were mixed on Tuesday as markets digested a trove of earnings reports amid the US-China trade war.

As of 12:52 PM Eastern time, the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.1% lower.

At 10:01 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 113.62 points, or 0.28%, to 40,341.21, the S&P 500 lost 4.50 points, or 0.08%, to 5,524.25 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 30.26 points, or 0.17%, to 17,335.59.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 6.4 points, or 0.02%, to 40,233.98. The S&P 500 fell 19.9 points, or 0.36%, to 5,508.87, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 95.4 points, or 0.55%, to 17,270.757.

Trump administration is planning to lessen the effect of auto tariffs by reducing taxes on foreign auto parts used in US-made vehicles.

On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said several top trading partners had made "very good" proposals to avoid US tariffs and China's recent decision to exempt certain US goods from its retaliatory levies showed a willingness to de-escalate trade tensions.

But, Bessent also said the Asian country could lose 10 million jobs quickly due to tariffs.

A report on Tuesday showed US consumer confidence plunged to lowest in 5 years on tariff worries. The Conference Board said that its Consumer Confidence Index fell 7.9 points in April to 86, its lowest reading since May 2020.

In the bond market, Treasury yields fell after the weak economic data bolstered speculation the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to prevent a recession.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to to 4.17% from 4.23% late on Monday.

Gainers and Losers

Shares of General Motors dropped 3% as the automaker reported better than expected quarterly profits, but said it was reassessing its forecast due to the tariffs outlook.

UPS stock gained 1% after announcing plans to cut 20,000 positions worldwide this year following a significant drop in business for Amazon.

Honeywell shares climbed 4.2% after the company posted a rise in quarterly profit.

US-listed Spotify shares tanked 8.4% after the Swedish music-streaming giant forecast current-quarter operating profit below Wall Street estimates.

Bullion

Gold prices slipped more than 1% on Tuesday as signs of easing US-China trade tensions reduced demand for safe-haven.

Spot gold fell 1.2% at $3,300.57 an ounce as of 9:50 AM ET (1350 GMT). US gold futures declined 1.1% to $3,310.20.

Spot silver gained 0.1% to $33.2 an ounce, platinum fell 0.3% to $983.26 and palladium lost 0.8% to $941.51.

Crude oil

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as investors lowered their demand growth expectations due to the United States-China trade war.

Brent crude futures fell by $1.27, or 1.9%, to $64.59 per barrel by 1303 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.07, or 1.7%, to $60.98 a barrel.