Wall Street Slips Despite Strong Bank Earnings

U.S. markets edged lower on Tuesday, weighed down by renewed uncertainty over potential U.S. tariff policies, even as upbeat bank earnings provided some support.

All three major Wall Street indexes closed slightly down. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which tracks 30 blue-chip companies, fell 0.38% to 40,368.96. The S&P 500, representing the largest publicly traded companies, slipped 0.17% to 5,396.63. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.05% to 16,823.17.

SPX

Tariff Uncertainty Undermines Optimism

Investor sentiment was shaken after former President Donald Trump hinted at possible exemptions on tariffs for automobiles and auto parts. This followed his earlier move to temporarily exclude smartphones and other electronics from tariffs targeting Chinese imports.

However, filings in the Federal Register revealed that the Trump administration is also moving forward with investigations into pharmaceutical and semiconductor imports, signaling the potential for further trade restrictions.

These developments reversed earlier gains and pushed markets into negative territory, despite encouraging earnings from major banks. Bank of America rose 3.60% and Citigroup gained 1.76%, helping lift the financial sector, which led gains within the S&P 500.

Mixed Results Across Sectors

Among individual stocks, Johnson & Johnson fell 0.48% after reporting weaker-than-expected sales in its medical devices segment, despite beating Wall Street forecasts for overall revenue and earnings in Q1.

In contrast, Netflix surged 4.83% after setting an ambitious target of reaching a $1 trillion market capitalization and doubling its revenue to $39 billion by 2030, according to The Wall Street Journal. The streaming giant is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings this Thursday.