Stock Market Today: Stocks volatile as China hits back in escalating trade war
The S&P 500 has fallen more than 12.1% since President Trump's tariff announcement last week.
U.S. stocks moved lower in early Wednesday trading, paired with a spike in Treasury bond yields, as investors braced for the global market impact of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and the rising odds of a domestic recession.
Updated at 9:38 AM EDT
Mixed open
The S&P 500 was marked 19 points lower, or 0.41%, while the Nasdaq gained 45 points, or 0.28%.
The Dow, meanwhile, fell 252 points with the Russell 2000 down 13 points, or 0.75%.
The VIX index surged past $54 in early trading, but was last marked at $52.01, suggesting daily swings of around 3.25%, or 160 points, for the S&P 500.
"While most hard data, including last week’s jobs report, suggests the US economy is still on relatively solid ground, financial markets remain volatile, reflecting potential tremors beneath the surface," said Daniel Skelly, head of Morgan Stanley's Wealth Management Market Research & Strategy Team.
"Tariffs remain top of mind, and we don’t have much more clarity about them than we did before last week’s announcement," he added. "Until we get it, stocks may have difficulty gaining traction. But this isn’t a time for investors to abandon a long-term outlook. We’re in one of those challenging, but inevitable, periods of volatility that investors have to navigate to reach their goals."
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Apr. 09, 2025)$SPY -0.37%
