“Markets are pricing that this is a better type of uncertainty than what we’ve had since Liberation Day,” which is what Trump called his April 2 announcement of a worldwide set of sweeping tariffs.
The S&P 500 has pulled within 4 per cent of its all-time high after dropping roughly 20 per cent below at one point last month.
On Wall Street, tech stocks led the way after Nvidia once again topped analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue in the latest quarter.
The chip company has grown into one of the US stock market’s largest and most influential stocks because of the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, and its 2.9 per cent rise was the strongest force by far lifting the S&P 500.
C3ai, an AI application software company, jumped 24.2 per cent after it reported stronger profit than analysts expected for its latest quarter. It also said the US Air Force increased the maximum possible value for its contract by $US350 million ($543 million) to $US450 million. The company’s revenue last quarter totaled $US108.7 million.
E.l.f. Beauty was another big winner and rose 24.9 per cent after the cosmetics company delivered a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said it agreed to buy Hailey Bieber’s Rhode skincare brand in a $US1 billion deal. Rhode had $US212 million in net sales in the 12 months through March.
Bieber, a model and the wife of singer Justin Bieber, will be Rhode’s chief creative officer and head of innovation and also a strategic advisor to the combined companies.
They helped offset a drop for Best Buy, which fell 8.7 per cent even though it reported a stronger profit than expected. Its revenue fell short of analysts’ forecasts.
The electronics retailer also cut its forecasted ranges for revenue and profit over the full year on the assumption that “tariffs stay at the current levels for the rest of the year, and there is no material change in consumer behaviour from the trends we have seen in recent quarters,” chief financial officer Matt Bilunas said.
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Many companies have recently said that the uncertainty caused by tariffs is making it too difficult to offer any financial forecasts for the upcoming year.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased following some mixed reports on the economy. One said that the US economy likely shrunk by less in the first three months of the year than earlier estimated. Another said slightly more US workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.43 per cent from 4.47 per cent late Wednesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more closely with expectations for where the Federal Reserve will take overnight interest rates, slipped to 3.94 per cent from 3.96 per cent.
In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9 per cent to help lead Asian markets higher, while stocks rose 1.4 per cent in Hong Kong and 0.7 per cent in Shanghai. South Korea’s Kospi rallied 1.9 per cent after the Bank of Korea cut its key interest rate to ease pressure on the economy.
The moves for European stocks were much more muted. France’s CAC 40 fell 0.1 per cent, and Germany’s DAX swung from an early gain to a dip of 0.4 per cent.
AP
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