Stocks end mixed on Wall Street, holding on to most of the gains they
made earlier in the week
[May 15, 2025] By
DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA
A choppy day of trading on Wall Street ended with a mixed finish for
stock indexes Wednesday, as gains by several big technology stocks
helped temper losses.
The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% after wavering between small gains and losses
much of the day. Most of the stocks in the index lost ground, but solid
gains for several heavyweight technology companies like Nvidia helped
counter a decline in health care and other sectors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq
composite rose 0.7%.
Super Micro Computer surged 15.7% after signing a partnership agreement
with Saudi Arabian data center company DataVolt. Advanced Micro Devices
gained 4.7% after announcing a $6 billion stock buyback program.
Nvidia rose 4.2% and Google parent Alphabet added 3.7%.
Other big gainers included eToro Group, a retail trading platform for
stocks and cryptocurrency. It rose 28.8% in its first day of trading.
The market has been relatively steady since its surge on Monday, which
came after the U.S. and China entered a 90-day pause in their trade war.
The market gained some more ground on Tuesday after the government
reported that inflation unexpectedly cooled across the country in April.
Additional updates on inflation and retail sales are expected on
Thursday.
The benchmark S&P 500 index, which sits at the center many 401(k)
accounts, has erased all its losses since President Donald Trump
escalated his global trade war in early April. It has now also erased
its losses for the year and is back to within 4.1% of its all-time high
set in February.
“The stock market’s rally has legs, as the trade negotiation with China
was seemingly the toughest one on the docket," said Rick Gardner, chief
investment officer at RGA Investments.
Trump has delayed a large swath of his most severe tariffs against
America's trading partners, but some import taxes remain in place.
Uncertainty over the path ahead continues to hang over businesses and
consumers. The on-again-off-again nature of Trump’s trade policy has
left companies reluctant to make plans about investment and hiring and
consumers nervous about spending.
Businesses continue to trim or withdraw their financial forecasts as
they face unpredictable trade policy and cautious consumers.
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Trader Edward Curran works on the floor of the New York Stock
Exchange, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 American Eagle fell 6.4% after the
retailer withdrew its financial outlook for the year citing “macro
uncertainty.” General Motors, UPS, Kraft Heinz and JetBlue are among
the many companies representing a wide range of industries that have
warned about the impact of tariffs and a weakening economy.
More than 90% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported earnings for
their latest quarter. The majority of companies have reported
better-than-expected earnings, but forecasts for earnings growth
during the current quarter have been broadly cut in half for
companies in the index.
The economy has already showed signs of slowing. It shrank 0.3%
during the first quarter amid a surge of imports as businesses and
consumers tried to stock up amid tariffs and policy uncertainty.
Inflation remains a big concern. The latest data on consumer prices
released Tuesday showed that tariffs haven’t had much impact yet.
But that could change as the impact of current tariffs make their
way through supply chains and delayed tariffs potentially go into
effect. Inflation has cooled to just above the Federal Reserve's
target of 2%, but the threat of higher prices on goods because of
import taxes has heightened worries about inflation heating up.
The U.S. on Thursday will release its April report for inflation at
the wholesale level, which is what companies are paying for goods.
Economists expect an easing of inflation there.
The latest update Thursday for retail sales is expected to reflect a
sharp drop to 0.2% in April from 1.4% the previous month.
Retail giant Walmart will also report its latest financial results
on Thursday and its financial forecasts will be closely watched.
In the bond market, Treasury yields edged higher. The yield on the
10-year Treasury rose to 4.54% from 4.47% late Tuesday. The two-year
Treasury yield, which moves more closely with expectations for Fed
action, rose to 4.06% from 4.00% late Tuesday.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 6.03 points to 5,892.58. The Dow fell
89.37 points to 42,051.06, and the Nasdaq gained 136.72 points to
19,146.81.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Asia and were mixed in
Europe.
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