Stocks edge up; materials firms and retailers rise
U.S. stocks meandered Tuesday but finished mostly higher, with retailers and industrial companies up. A jump in metals prices helped mining and materials companies. Asian markets jumped after the North Korean government said it was open to talks with the U.S. about ending its nuclear program.
Stocks have edged higher on Wall Street over the last three days, but they’ve frequently bounced up and down as investors grappled with the Trump administration’s stance on trade and whether the proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will push up inflation in the U.S. and lead other countries to retaliate in a way that would hurt economic growth and corporate profits.
Kristina Hooper, chief global markets strategist for Invesco, said Wall Street is having trouble deciding if the tariffs are more of a bargaining chip in trade negotiations, as President Trump has suggested at times in the last few days, or if they are a goal on their own.
“When it seemed as though it was just rhetoric [Monday], markets relaxed,” she said. “Today, I think concerns have grown that maybe this isn’t just a bargaining tactic.” She said Republicans in Congress don’t seem to be treating the tariffs as a bargaining move: House Speaker Paul D. Ryan spoke up against the proposed tariffs Tuesday and called for a “more surgical approach” that might cause less backlash.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 7.18 points, or 0.3%, to 2,728.12. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 9.36 points to 24,884.12. Early in the day, it was up as much as 120 points, then fell as much as 166 points before recovering. The Nasdaq composite jumped 41.30 points, or 0.6%, to 7,372.01. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed 16.16 points, or 1%, to 1,562.20.
Stocks fell 3.7% during a three-day losing streak last week after Trump announced his tariff plans. Other countries objected, and the European Union announced plans to put tariffs on some U.S.-made goods, including bourbon and motorcycles. Companies that make most of their sales overseas have fared the worst, while U.S.-focused companies have regained their losses from that three-day stretch.
Retailers including Amazon, Best Buy and Lowe’s gained ground, but Target slid 4.5% to $71.79 after it reported that costs associated with overhauling its stores and investing in its website affected its earnings and forecasts for the current year. Target also said it is raising minimum starting pay for workers for the second time in less than a year.
Nordstrom rose 1.1% to $52.49 after the department store rejected an offer from the Nordstrom family to take it private, saying the offered price of $50 a share was too low. The family group includes Co-Presidents Blake, Peter and Erik Nordstrom. They and other family members already own 30% of Nordstrom’s stock.
Qualcomm fell and Broadcom rose after Bloomberg News reported that Broadcom is on track to get more leverage in its effort to buy Qualcomm, which wants Broadcom to make a richer offer. Bloomberg reported that so far, directors backed by Broadcom are on pace to win six seats on Qualcomm’s board. Qualcomm’s current board opposes Broadcom’s $117-billion bid for the company and says the price is too low; a board supported by Broadcom, on the other hand, probably would accept the offer.
Qualcomm fell 2.9% to $62.14, and Broadcom rose 1.6% to $250.96. Both stocks fell Monday after the Committee for Foreign Investment in the U.S. said it would look into the deal.
Metals prices rose, boosting mining stocks. Gold rose $15.30, or 1.2%, to $1,335.20 an ounce. Silver climbed 37 cents, or 2.3%, to $16.78 an ounce. Copper rose 3 cents to $3.16 a pound. Shares of gold and copper mining company Freeport-McMoRan went up 2.8% to $18.70.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose 3 cents to $62.60 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 25 cents to $65.79 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline stayed at $1.93 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1 cent to $1.90 a gallon. Natural gas rose 5 cents to $2.75 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Bond prices edged up. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.87% from 2.88%.
Asian markets climbed after North Korea said that it was willing to start talks with the U.S. on denuclearization and that it would stop nuclear and missile tests during those discussions. The Kospi in Seoul jumped 1.5%, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.8% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 2.1%.
Germany’s DAX rose 0.2%, and London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4%. France’s CAC 40 added 0.1%.
The dollar inched up to 106.21 yen from 106.20 yen. The euro rose to $1.2405 from $1.2327.
UPDATES:
2:20 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analyst comment.
This article was originally published at 6:55 a.m.
