Stocks were little changed Tuesday as the deadline for President Donald Trump's next tariff rollout loomed ahead. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA) and the S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY) traded along the flatline, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: QQQ) rose over 0.6%.
Here's how the market settled on Tuesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.38% or +21.22 points to 5,633.07
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.03% or -11.80 points to 41,989.96
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.87% or +150.60 points to 17,449.89
On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that the White House is planning to issue 20% tariffs on most imports on April 2, citing three people familiar with the matter. However, the report noted that there are still other options being weighed, including rolling out reciprocal tariffs country-by-country.
Wells Fargo Securities Head of Equity Strategy Christopher Harvey warned Tuesday that investors should not underestimate the potential long-term risks for stocks in response to Trump's new tariffs.
"We remain constructive on equities longer term given: (1) potential monetary stimulus (i.e, 75+ bps of 2025 Fed rate cuts) starting by mid-year; (2) anticipated tax bill movement (and possible enactment) this summer; and (3) several uber-caps already look oversold [Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA)]," Harvey wrote in a Tuesday note.
"However, the risk are not small and recession is possible. We are worrited most about the potential unintended consequences of aggressive tariff moves," Harvey added.
In economic news, U.S. Manufacturing Activity was little changed in February as prices climbed higher, the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) survey showed Tuesday.
The ISM manufacturing index ticked lower to 49, representing the percentage of respondents reporting increased activity. That reading was below expectations and the neutral level of 50 that represents expansion. Prices, meanwhile, jumped 7 points to 69.4 for the highest reading since mid-2022.
Elsewhere, Job Openings ticked lower in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday, as the labor market continues to show signs of cooling as both hiring and quits rates hold near decade lows.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed 7.57 million open positions at the end of February, falling from January's print of 7.76 million and marking the lowest level since September. Beneath the headline, there were 5.4 million hires during the month, up from 5.39 million in January -- the hiring rate held at 3.4% -- and the quits rates fell to 2%, from from January's rate of 2.1%.
"The February JOLTS report showed some cooling of labor market conditions but is unlikely to sway the Federal Reserve from its view that the job market is stable enough to withstand an extended period of unchanged interest rates as the central bank monitors progress on inflation," wrote Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, in a note to clients on Tuesday.