Wall Street was mixed and little changed on Tuesday, though gains were kept in check after FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN JEROME POWELL said the U.S. central bank was in no rush to cut interest rates amid growing concerns that President Donald Trump’s tariff policies could stoke inflation.
US DOLLAR rallied for a third straight session on Monday after US President Donald Trump warned of more tariffs, including on steel and aluminum, while global stock indexes advanced, shrugging off concerns about another round of duties.
Wall Street closed higher on Monday (10/02/25), on the back of an Nvidia-led rally in the Technology sector and the S&P 500 Materials index rose 0.5%, supported by steel companies such as Nucor up 5.6%, and Steel Dynamics up 4.9%.
The highly anticipated employment report showed the US added 143,000 jobs in January, 53.4% fewer than the upwardly revised 307,000 in December.
Wall Street ended sharply lower and the US Treasury yield surged on Friday following a mixed US Payroll report, weak consumer data sentiment, and renewed trade war concerns.
President Donald Trump over the weekend announced 10% tariffs on China. He agreed to pause 25% levies on Canada and Mexico. Traders’ focus now moves toward January’s jobs report, which is slated for release on Friday at 8:30 a.m.
All three major averages are on track to finish the week with modest gains. The S&P 500 is on pace for a 0.7% advance, while the Nasdaq is tracking for a 0.8% gain during the period. The Dow is lagging, with a week-to-date increase of about 0.5%.
The US on Thursday might be hit with a bearish sentiment as initial jobless claims is anticipated to be at a higher 214K from a lower previous 207K. Across the pond, UK’s Bank of England will be announcing its February Interest Rate Decision.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 32 points, or less than 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were both trading around flat. U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday night after the major averages posted back-to-back winning sessions.
