Stocks Fall On Trade Concerns, Oil And Gold Rally: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?

Author: Piero Cingari | May 06, 2025 12:26pm

Wall Street edged lower by midday Tuesday as uncertainty surrounding trade policies lingered, with investors adopting a cautious approach ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting.

In a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. may soon begin renegotiating the USMCA. He noted that China is eager to negotiate due to its struggling economy, driven by a lack of U.S. trade, but emphasized the talks would take place “at the right time.”

Trump kept his trade stance unclear, suggesting that while some agreements may be signed, there is no obligation to finalize any, and dismissed repeated questions about the number of deals in progress.

The S&P 500 dipped 30 points, or 0.6%, to 5,610, on track for its second consecutive negative session after nine straight gains. The Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.8%, while the Russell 2000 slipped 1%.

Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were in the red, with utilities as the only sector in the green. The U.S. dollar fell, extending its losses for a third straight session.

Commodities saw a broad rally, with oil prices surging 3.6%, pushing WTI above $59, following Israeli airstrikes in Yemen. Gold also rallied, climbing 2.4% to above $3,400 per ounce amid heightened geopolitical tensions.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) reversed Monday's gains, slipping 0.4% to $94,375.

Tuesday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day % chg
S&P 500	5,614.65	-0.6%
Dow Jones	40,905.06	-0.8%
Nasdaq 100	19,796.10	-0.9%
Russell 2000	1,983.93	-1.0%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) fell 0.7% to $559.24.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) eased 0.8% to $409.01.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) fell 0.9% to $481.23.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) tumbled 1.1% to $196.68.
• The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) outperformed, up 1.2%; the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) lagged, down 2.4%.

Tuesday’s Stock Movers

Stocks reacting to earnings reports included:

• Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) up 2.70%
• The Clorox Co. (NYSE:CLX) down 2.31%
• Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) down 9.95%
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX) down 13.9%
• Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) down 0.53%
• Realty Income Corp. (NYSE:O) down 0.68%
• The Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE:WMB) down 5.19%
• Celanese Corp. (NYSE:CE) up 9.14%
• Fabrinet (NYSE:FN) down 7.37%
• Lattice Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ:LSCC) down 13.6%
• Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) up 3.61%
• Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) down 13.6%
• Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) up 2.24%
• Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG) up 10.94%
• TransDigm Group Incorporated (NYSE:TDG) down 5.67%
• Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) up 1.26%
• Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) down 3.32%
• American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) up 0.52%
• Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) up 0.37%
• Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE:FIS) down 2.88%
• WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) up 0.77%
• Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) up 1.14%
• IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) down 1.32%
• Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) up 2.02%
• Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) down 4.43%
• Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) up 4.11%
• Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) down 1.43%
• GlobalFoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) down 3.57%
• Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NYSE:EXPD) down 3.67%
• Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) up 0.55%
• Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) down 5.56%

Stocks slated to report earnings after the close include: Assurant Inc. (NYSE:AIZ), Arista Networks Inc. (NYSE:ANET), Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), Mosaic Co (NYSE:MOS), Corpay Inc. (NYSE:CPAY), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ:WYNN), Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (NASDAQ:JKHY), Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN), Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI), Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) and Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN).

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Photo: Gumbariya via Shutterstock

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