US stocks closed higher on Tuesday, while oil and gold prices fell, amid investor anticipation of corporate earnings, developments in US President Donald Trump's tariff talks, and growing fears of a global economic recession.
Wall Street's three major indices rose slightly, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average leading the gains and the S&P 500 posting its sixth consecutive day of gains.
On the other hand, the Canadian election results were a rebuke to Trump's aggressive trade policies and his provocative statements about the possibility of Canada becoming the "51st state" of the United States.
"Canada has sent a clear message that it will not bow to Trump," said Tim Ghriskey, chief portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York. "It will be very aggressive on trade issues."
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained that tariff talks are still ongoing, noting that the ball is now in China's court and ruling out supply chain disruptions resulting from trade disputes.
The Trump administration also took steps to mitigate the impact of tariffs on imported auto parts, while China exempted US ethane imports from its 125% tariff, a sign of the fluidity of the trade landscape.
"We saw a weak and volatile market at the start of the day, but it rallied after signals from the White House emerged," said Chris Wolf, chief investment officer at Pennington Partners in Maryland. "It's clear the market is closely tied to political developments and trade decisions."
This week marks the peak of the first-quarter earnings season, with results expected from four AI giants within the "Magnificent Seven" group: Meta, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon.
negative economic indicators
On the economic data front, consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in 13.5 years, and the number of job openings fell by 3.9%.
Market performance
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 300.03 points, or 0.75%, to 40,527.62, the S&P 500 rose 32.07 points, or 0.58%, to 5,560.82, and the Nasdaq Composite added 95.19 points, or 0.55%, to 17,461.32.
European stocks also continued their upward trend for the sixth consecutive day, supported by banking sector earnings. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.36%, and the broader FTSE Eurofirst 300 index rose by 0.35%.
In emerging markets, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.34%, the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index outside Japan rose 0.33%, and Japan's Nikkei index rose 0.38%.
Currency and bond movements
The dollar rose after Bessent's comments on progress in trade talks, but remained on track for its biggest monthly decline against the euro since November 2022.
The Canadian dollar fell after the Liberals, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, won the election.
The dollar index rose 0.2% to 99.23.
The euro fell 0.35% to $1.1381.
The dollar rose against the yen by 0.2% to 142.32.
The British pound fell 0.27% to $1.3402.
The Mexican peso improved 0.18% to 19.559 against the dollar.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.06% to $1.38.
US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year note yield falling 4.6 basis points to 4.17%, its lowest level in three weeks. The 30-year note yield also fell to 4.6431%, and the two-year note yield fell to 3.656%.
oil and gold
Oil prices fell due to growing fears of a global recession and the effects of the trade war.
US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.63% to settle at $60.42 per barrel.
Brent crude fell 2.44% to close at $64.25 per barrel.
Gold prices also declined due to the rise in the dollar, as spot gold fell by 0.59% to $3,321.54 per ounce, while US futures fell by 0.47% to $3,317.40 per ounce.