Stock Market Today: Stocks edge lower amid further tariff uncertainty
The S&P 500 is now 4% higher than its March 13 low, but 6% south of its February 19 peak.
U.S. equity futures nudged lower in early Tuesday trading as investors hit pause on a solid three-day rally that has lifted the S&P 500 firmly from its early March lows even as investors remain cautious over the impact of sweeping tariffs heading into next week's deadline.
The S&P 500 finished 1.8% higher last night, with tech stocks rising more than 2.2%, in a roust Monday rally tied to stronger-than-expected PMI activity data and comments from President Donald Trump that suggested, yet again, flexibility and negotiating room on tariffs ahead of their April 2 unveiling.
Megacap tech stocks were the standout performers on the session, with Nvidia (NVDA) rising 3.15% and Tesla (TSLA) having its best day since early November with an 11.9% rally.
S&P Global's PMI reading showed a much-firmer-than-expected level of activity in the services sector this month, offsetting a likely tariff-related slump in manufacturing, while comments from Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic cast doubt on the market's betting for two more interest rate cuts between now and the end of the year.
"I moved to one mainly because I think we’re going to see inflation be very bumpy and not move dramatically and in a clear way to the 2% target,” Bostic, a non-voting member of the Fed's rate-setting board, told Bloomberg Television late Monday.
Treasury yields edged higher in the overnight session, with 2-year notes trading at 4.051% ahead of today's $69 billion auction and 10-year notes rising to 4.348% heading into the New York trading day.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.05% higher at $104.312.
Related: Crushing the dollar won't solve America's debt problem. It'll make it worse
On Wall Street, stocks are looking at a muted open, and could drift over the next two sessions amid a light calendar of economic and earnings releases and a subdued level for the VIX volatility index, which was pegged at a one-month low of $17.54 in after-hours trading.
Futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a modest 8 point opening bell decline for the benchmark, which is now up 4% from its March 13 low but still down 6% from the all-time high it reached on February 19.
The tech-focused Nasdaq is called 42 points lower while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is priced for a 57 point decline.
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In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 was marked 0.45% higher following a firmer-than-expected reading of the Ifo Institute's business sentiment survey in Germany, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4% in London.
Overnight in Asia, tariff concerns and a firmer dollar dragged the regional MSCI ex-Japan index 0.59% lower into the close of trading, while the Nikkei 225 ended 0.46% higher in Tokyo as the yen hit a three-week low against the greenback, supporting tech and export stocks.
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