Stock Market Today: Stocks move higher amid tariff uncertainty, hiring slump
Last night the S&P 500 closed below the level it traded on Election Day, extending its 2025 decline to around 1.55%.
U.S. stocks moved higher in early Wednesday trading, while the dollar sank to a three-month low against its global peers, as investors reacted to a potential compromise on tariffs while adjusting to a seismic change in German fiscal policy that will likely reverberate around the entire region.
Updated at 10:08 AM EST
Solid services
The Institute for Supply Management's benchmark reading of the services sector, the biggest driver of U.S. growth, jumped notably higher in February, easing concerns of a tariff-related slowdown in the world's biggest economy.
The ISM's headline index rose 0.7 points to 53.5 points, well ahead of the Street's 52.6 point forecast and firmly above the 50-point mark that separate growth from contraction.
"Anxiety continues; however, over the potential impact of tariffs. Some respondents indicated that federal spending cuts are having negative impacts on their business forecasts," said ISM chair Steve Miller.
The S&P 500 was marked 18 points, or 0.31% higher following the data release, with the Nasdaq rising 53 points, or 0.29%.
