Stock Market Today: S&P posts 6th straight win on talk of tariff relief

Updated at 4:45 p.m. ET by Rob Lenihan

Stocks ended higher Tuesday after automakers received a reprieve from President Donald Trump's tariffs while the White House said it was close to announcing a major trade deal.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 300.03 points, or 0.75%, to finish the session at 40,527.62, while the S&P 500 gained 0.58% to close at 5,560.83.

Both indexes posted a sixth straight winning day, marking the longest win streak since July for the Dow and since November for the S&P 500.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.55% to the end the day at 17,461.32.

“I have a deal done, done, done, done, but I need to wait for their prime minister and their parliament to give its approval, which I expect shortly,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC in the afternoon, without naming the country.

Lutnick did say that he was not dealing directly with China. He said those negotiations were in the “portfolio” of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

“My portfolio is the rest of the world’s trade deals,” Lutnick said.

When asked about Lutnick’s comments on Fox Business, Bessent declined to say if a deal had been reached with any country.

“I’m not going to get ahead of the president. Nothing’s done until President Trump announces it. ... So we should wait to hear from President Trump over the next couple of days,” Bessent said.

Starbucks  (SBUX)  posted weaker-than-expected earnings and another quarter of same-store sales declines, but the company said its turnaround strategy is showing early signs of success.

3:55 p.m. ET

A day that opened with softness has turned into a strong rally Tuesday as buyers proved willing to buy despite continuing tariff concerns. 

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.6% to 5,562, The Nasdaq Composite Index added 114 points to 17,480, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 366 points to 40,593. 

The catalyst appears to the Trump Administration's insistence that trade tensions are easing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said talks were "in motion" with 187 countries. (China talks really aren't doing much.)

 The question for the next few weeks is if the market is on a sustainable path to higher prices. There is still a worry that the risk of a test of the early April lows could erupt. Typically, when a stock or an index has a big low, it will test the low one more time. 

That's why one often hears the advice "Buy the second dip."

Two economic reports show economy's fragility

12:50 PM E.T.

The midday gains came despite two economic reports that suggested unease about the economy is filtering into consumer minds.

In addition Amazon.com  (AMZN)  had to fight off a kerfuffle with the White House about whether it would show customers how much it added to price to cover tariffs costs. 

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 20 points at 5,549. The Nasdaq Composite Index had gained 36 points at 17,402, while the Dow Jones industrials had climbed 282 points to 40,509..