Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major equity indices have traded above and below their prior closing levels in limited ranges. The S&P 500 shows a 0.4% decline and the Nasdaq Composite is 0.4% lower also.

Markets are responding to President Trump announcing a 25% tariff on all imported passenger vehicles starting April 3. He also said reciprocal tariffs will go on for all countries, but that the U.S. will be very lenient.

Ford (F 9.99, -0.30, -2.9%), General Motors (GM 47.29, -3.66, -7.2%), Stellantis (STLA 11.71, -0.24, -2.1%) are some of the names impacted by the news.

Participants are also digesting this morning's economic data, which featured another solid initial jobless claims report along with an Advance International Trade in Goods Report for February that still showed a substantive goods deficit (-$147.9 billion).

Only four of the 11 S&P 500 sectors trade up, including the defensive-oriented consumer staples (+0.8%), utilities (+0.2%), and health care (+0.1%) sectors.

The consumer discretionary sector is another top performer, propelled higher by Tesla (TSLA 274.53, +6.46, +2.4%) and Amazon.com (AMZN 201.60, +0.47, +0.2%). Tesla is perceived as a relative beneficiary of the auto tariff action on imported vehicles.

Reviewing today's economic data:

• Q4 GDP - Third Estimate 2.4% (Briefing.com consensus 2.3%); Prior 2.3%, Q4 GDP Deflator - Third Estimate 2.3% (Briefing.com consensus 2.4%); Prior 2.4%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it shows a nice expansion in activity during the fourth quarter that was underpinned by consumer spending; however, the report's impact on the market is muted by its dated nature (we're just days away from being done with the first quarter).
• Weekly Initial Claims 224K (Briefing.com consensus 225K); Prior was revised to 225K from 223K, Weekly Continuing Claims 1.856 mln; Prior was revised to 1.881 mln from 1.892 mln
  • The key takeaway from the report is that initial jobless claims -- a leading indicator -- continue to idle at levels consistent with an otherwise solid labor market.
• February Adv. Intl. Trade in Goods -$147.9 bln; Prior was revised to -$155.6 bln from -$153.3 bln
• February Adv. Retail Inventories 0.1%; Prior was revised to 0.1% from -0.1%
• February Adv. Wholesale Inventories 0.3%; Prior was revised to 0.8% from 0.7%
• February Pending Home Sales 2.0% (Briefing.com consensus 2.9%); Prior -4.6%