US open: Stocks mixed as White House eases auto tariffs, takes aim at Amazon

29th Apr 2025 14:01

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Tuesday after Donald Trump made yet another tariff concession, this time concerning certain foreign parts used to make cars domestically.

As of 1445 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.30% at 40,349.16, while the S&P 500 lost 0.26% to 5,514.19 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.49% weaker at 17,280.49.

The Dow closed 114.09 points higher on Monday after a volatile session saw the blue-chip swing between a 240-point loss and a 300-point gain.

The White House confirmed overnight that auto tariffs would not stretch to steel and aluminium imports, easing certain sector-specific fears and pushing shares in US-based carmakers higher in pre-market trading.

Also in focus, the Trump administration too aim at Amazon on Tuesday for reportedly planning to display the impact of so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs next to the total price of products on its website. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move was a "hostile and political act" by Amazon.

On the macro front, the US trade deficit in goods widened sharply in March, up to $162.0bn in March for the widest on record, and above consensus estimates for a reading of a $146.0bn, according to an advance estimate from the Census Bureau. Imports of goods surged by 5% on February's figure, or 30.8% year-on-year, to $342.7bn as Donald Trump's revelation that he would slap tariffs on major trading partners led manufacturers to expedite orders to get ahead of additional taxation. Imports for consumer goods soared by 55.5% to $102.8bn, while industrial supplies orders shot up 37.8% to $74.6bn, and capital goods orders rose 22.2% to $92.8bn. In turn, exports rose just 1.2% to $180.8bn.

On another note, US wholesale inventories rose by 0.5% month-on-month to $908.0bn in March, according to preliminary numbers from the Census Bureau, matching February's increase but falling short of market expectations for a 0.7% increase. Durable goods inventories grew by 0.5%, while nondurable inventories rose 0.4%. On an annualised basis, wholesale inventories were up by 2.3%.

Elsewhere, S&P Case-Shiller's home price index increased to 335.08 points in February, up from 332.72 points in January.

Still to come, April's consumer confidence report and March's JOLTS job openings report will be released at 1500 BST.

In the corporate space, General Motors beat quarterly profit expectations but withdrew its FY guidance as a result of tariff uncertainty and suspended further stock buybacks as it looks to deal with cost increases associated with said levies, while Coca-Cola beat on both earnings and revenue estimates and said the effects of the current global trade spat to be "manageable".

Market participants were also patiently awaiting quarterly earnings reports from several big-tech firms, with Meta Platforms and Microsoft slated to report on Wednesday, while Apple and Amazon were scheduled to release their latest quarterly numbers on Thursday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $182.30 2.44%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.51 2.29%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $236.16 1.61%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.39 1.15%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $140.10 0.99%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $261.61 0.95%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $283.09 0.80%

Visa Inc. (V) $337.51 0.70%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $83.19 0.54%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $161.85 0.52%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $265.64 -0.83%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $57.31 -0.54%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.97 -0.41%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $29.95 -0.23%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $356.92 -0.18%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $391.16 -0.18%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.79 -0.17%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $243.22 -0.14%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $90.16 -0.13%

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%

S&P 500 - Risers

Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $12.94 10.32%

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $3.58 6.87%

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $31.22 5.54%

Macy's Inc. (M) $11.59 3.67%

AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $192.34 3.38%

Centene Corp. (CNC) $59.47 3.09%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $106.34 3.07%

Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) $25.57 3.06%

Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $43.02 2.65%

Global Payments Inc. (GPN) $74.31 2.52%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) $90.96 -3.14%

PVH Corp. (PVH) $71.11 -2.51%

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.76 -2.49%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $28.81 -2.31%

eBay Inc. (EBAY) $66.32 -2.23%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $108.73 -2.05%

Elevance Health Inc. (ELV) $413.82 -1.86%

Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $49.00 -1.84%

F5 Inc. (FFIV) $265.07 -1.84%

Copart Inc. (CPRT) $59.81 -1.79%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $106.34 3.07%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $212.41 2.84%

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $9.57 2.35%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.51 2.29%

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $58.62 1.91%

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,370.16 1.72%

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $236.77 1.72%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $610.86 1.36%

Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $11.44 1.33%

Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $11.02 1.29%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $28.81 -2.31%

eBay Inc. (EBAY) $66.32 -2.23%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $108.73 -2.05%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $78.56 -1.53%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $285.74 -1.34%

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $181.09 -1.23%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $618.23 -0.94%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $162.42 -0.87%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $160.61 -0.83%

Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $433.99 -0.79%