S&P 500 is little changed as traders weigh tariff uncertainty, weak jobs data: Live updates
The S&P 500
was little changed on Wednesday, as the latest jobs data exacerbated concerns about the economy and appeared to pull attention away from hopes of a compromise on President Donald Trump’s controversial tariffs.
The S&P 500 added 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite
lost 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
bounced by 162 points, or 0.4%, after plunging more than 1,300 points over the last two sessions.
Stock futures rallied overnight after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he expected an announcement on an agreement with Canada and Mexico. Lutnick added on Wednesday morning that Trump was considering which sectors of the economy to give relief to on the taxes.
Those updates boosted stocks like automakers that were hard hit due to concerns about rising costs for materials. General Motors
and Ford
advanced more than 3% and 2%, respectively. Elsewhere, luxury clothing maker Canada Goose
jumped more than 2%.
But even as investors’ desires for tariff resolutions swirled, Trump said a “little disturbance” from his levies slapped on the two countries — along with China, which was also hit with a new import tax — was OK during a Tuesday night address to Congress.
The market also felt downward pressure on Wednesday morning after ADP’s private payroll report showed far less job growth in February than predicted by economists polled by Dow Jones. That release added to a growing stack of data points which have raised alarm around the U.S. economy.
Trump’s tariffs — and subsequent announcements of retaliatory plans from China, Mexico and Canada — have rocked markets this week. Even without big declines on Wednesday, all three major indexes were down more than 2% on the week.
What’s more, the tech-heavy Nasdaq traded within striking distance of correction territory, a term that refers to an index falling 10% from a recent peak. The S&P 500 on Tuesday officially wiped out its gains since it closed on Election Day in November.
“The thing that we have emphasized over and over again is that Trump introduces uncertainty,” said Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management. “We now are at a point where a single tweet or a single release of information can significantly change the interpretation of what markets look like.”
The Dow
and S&P 500
were both little changed as Wednesday’s trading day kicked off. The Nasdaq Composite
ticked 0.3% higher.
— Alex Harring
An overnight rally in stock futures largely fizzled out on Wednesday morning after ADP’s private payroll data showed another worrying sign for the economy.
Futures tied to the Dow and S&P 500 both traded near flat shortly before 9 a.m. ET, well off highs. Nasdaq 100 futures also significantly pared back gains, last trading just 0.2% higher.
— Alex Harring
Private sector job creation slowed to a crawl in February, fueling concerns of an economic slowdown, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday.
Companies added just 77,000 new workers for the month, well off the upwardly revised 186,000 in January and below the 148,000 Dow Jones consensus estimate, according to seasonally adjusted figures from ADP.
The total was the smallest increase since July and comes at a time when worries are rising that economic growth is slowing and worries brew that President Donald Trump’s tariff plans will spark another round of inflation. ADP said annual pay rose 4.7% in February, the same as the prior month.
— Jeff Cox
Abercrombie & Fitch
shares tumbled more than 5% before the bell on Wednesday as guidance worried analysts.
The retailer said it expects sales to rise between 3% and 5% for the 2025 fiscal year, under the consensus growth forecast of 6.8% from analysts polled by LSEG. Abercrombie also predicted a range of $1.25 and $1.45 for earnings per share in the current quarter. which missed the $1.97 figure penciled in by Wall Street.
That data overshadowed a stronger-than-anticipated earnings report for the fourth quarter.
Wednesday’s release comes during a rough patch, as Abercrombie shares have plunged more than 35% in 2025. That marks a turn after the stock soared more than 285% and 69% in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
— Alex Harring
Two exchange-traded funds tracking key trade partners hit by President Donald Trump’s tariffs climbed in Wednesday’s premarket amid rising hopes for a compromise.
The iShares MSCI China ETF
popped more than 2% before the bell. The iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (EWW)
added 1.5%.
— Alex Harring
Campbell’s
shares tumbled more than 5% in Wednesday’s premarket after posting weak revenue and guidance.
The Goldfish and Rao’s parent posted $2.69 billion in revenue for the second fiscal quarter, while analysts polled by FactSet expected $2.74 billion.
For the full year, the company told investors to anticipate earnings per share in a range between $2.95 and $3.05, excluding items, missing the consensus forecast of $3.13 from Wall Street. That soft outlook comes despite the company posting 74 cents in earnings per share for the second quarter, two cents higher than analysts penciled in.
Campbell’s shares have dropped more than 3% in 2025.
— Alex Harring
Shares of General Motors
, Ford
and Stellantis
rose in premarket trading on the hope that President Donald Trump could scale back tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which would hit automakers particularly hard.
General Motors and Ford shares gained 3.9% and 1.8%, respectively, while Stellantis jumped 5.7%.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday that Trump will “probably” announce a compromise with both of the U.S. trading partners as early as Wednesday. Imports from Canada and Mexico are now taxed at 25%, according to Trump’s new sweeping tariff plans.
Shares of these automakers declined in the previous session after the American Automotive Policy Council — a lobbying group that represents all three — gave a statement saying Trump should exempt from the tariff increase companies that comply with the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed during his first term in office.
— Pia Singh
European stock markets opened higher Wednesday, with Germany’s DAX
index jumping 2.8% after the parties expected to form the next government agreed a deal that could lead to increased spending on infrastructure and defense.
France’s CAC 40
and the U.K.’s FTSE 100
were 1.8% and 0.5% higher, respectively, with the pan-European Stoxx 600
index up by 1.2%.
— Jenni Reid
The Cboe Volatility Index
, known as the VIX, has jumped above the 20 threshold during each of the last seven sessions as Trump’s trade war ramped up.
It’s the longest steak the index has traded above the 20 level on an intraday basis since mid-October. The VIX looks at prices of options on the S&P 500 to track the level of fear on Wall Street.
— Yun Li
The “flight to safety across financial markets” in reaction to the U.S. tariffs and weak economic data could turn out to be an overreaction if President Trump changes his mind, “but the downside risks to our upbeat forecasts for U.S. financial markets have increased,” according to Capital Economics in London. ”[T]he ‘Trump trade’ and the wider optimism around the U.S. economy and financial markets has faded in short order.”
The latest round of tariffs take the effective U.S. tariff rate up to about 12%, the highest since the late 1940s, and the next scheduled round mean the effective rate “may well rise much further,” wrote Jonas Goltermann, deputy chief markets economist.
Downbeat economic numbers, “a broader reassessment of the near-term economic outlook in the U.S.,” policy uncertainty together with weaker confidence among businesses, consumers and investors all combine to create “headwinds for equity markets,” Goltermann said.
— Scott Schnipper
These are the stocks moving the most in after-hours trading:
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Stock futures rose Tuesday night.
Dow futures
added 275 points, or 0.7%, shortly after 6 p.m. ET. S&P 500 futures
rose 0.7%, while Nasdaq 100 futures
gained 0.8%.
— Lisa Kailai Han
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Dow and S&P 500 open little changed
Stock futures give up gains
Private employers added just 77,000 jobs in February, far below expectations, ADP says
Abercrombie slides of soft guidance
Mexico and China ETFs rise in premarket
Campbell’s tumbles as revenue, guidance miss expectations
Automaker stocks bounce back in premarket trading on tariff comprise speculation
Europe stocks open higher, led by Germany
VIX above 20 for 7 days in a row
Trump could change his mind, but downside risks to U.S. markets have risen, Capital Economics says
Stocks making the biggest moves after the bell: AeroVironment, CrowdStrike and more
Stock futures rise
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US stock futures (ES=F, NQ=F, YM=F) hover just above the flatline Wednesday morning as markets digest commentary from the US Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick.
In his address to the joint Congress session Tuesday night, President Trump warned of “a little discomfort” ahead tied to his tariff policies and coming reciprocal tariffs.
ADP reported that private payrolls for the month of February came out significantly below estimates, ahead of the latest US jobs report due out this Friday.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here.
This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.
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Last Updated:
March 5, 2025 at 9:50 AM EST
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said a decision was expected this afternoon on the newly instated 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and hinted at a possible compromise involving exemptions for some products.
“My thinking is it’s going to be somewhere in the middle. So not 100% of all products and not none,” he said on Bloomberg TV early Wednesday.
President Trump hasn’t, so far, indicated he plans to roll back either the taxes on Canadian and Mexican imports, or the extra 10% tax on Chinese goods. These all went into effect Tuesday, shaking up financial markets. U.S. stocks were little changed early Wednesday.
Trump made a brief reference to the prospect of higher consumer prices because of his tariffs in a Congressional speech late Tuesday. “There will be little disturbance,” he said. “We’re okay with that.”
The president also said he would move forward with his plan on reciprocal tariffs, adjusting U.S. levies to match those of other countries.
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