The S&P 500 posted a narrow gain on Tuesday as investors digested cautious commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on interest rates. Concerns remain over the direction of the economy amid U.S. tariffs and the possible escalation of a global trade war.
The S&P 500 added 0.03% to end at 6,068.50, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.36% to close at 19,643.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 123.24 points, or 0.28%, to 44,593.65.
Apple gained 2.2% after The Information reported that the company is partnering with Alibaba to develop artificial intelligence features for iPhone users in China, curbing the market’s losses.
Powell earlier addressed the Senate Banking Committee and signaled the Fed does not need to move quickly to ease monetary policy.
“With our policy stance now significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance,” Powell said in his first of two appearances this week on Capitol Hill. The central bank leader called the economy “strong overall” with a “solid” labor market, and said inflation is easing but remains above the Fed’s 2% goal.
Powell’s testimony — which will be followed by his appearance before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday — comes at a volatile time in Washington with President Donald Trump favoring tariffs against U.S. trading partners and with mixed messages coming from the administration on its approach to the Fed.
Trump on Monday signed new tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. The European Union responded by saying it would retaliate with levies of its own if the U.S. tacks on tariffs against products from the country bloc.
Investors are looking ahead to fresh inflation data in the form of the latest consumer price index report due out Wednesday, while the producer price index will go out on Thursday.
“I really think that the market is treading water, listening to Powell and waiting to see what tomorrow’s CPI will bring,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. “I’m of the belief that investors are really going to push prices higher based on earnings growth, not expecting P/E multiple expansion,” Stovall added.
“The only concern regarding earnings could be that some of this quarter’s enthusiasm was the result of something being taken from next quarter’s estimates,” Stovall said. “The question we’re going to have to see in the months ahead is, did we indeed see an acceleration of ordering ahead of the expected Trump tariffs, and that gave an artificial boost to the appearance of an improving economy?”
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/10/stock-market-today-live-updates.html