Stocks tick back up as trade tensions deepen and big banks report earnings

1 week ago 6

Catherine Baab

Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 7:27 AM 3 min read

U.S. markets opened somewhat higher Friday greeting arsenic investors absorbed a question of large slope earnings.

After a turbulent Thursday that saw large U.S. indexes descend sharply, the Dow Jones Industrial Average roseate 114 points Friday, oregon 0.3%, portion the S&P 500 besides added astir 3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq roseate 0.5%.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) led the aboriginal action, jumping 2% aft reporting stronger-than-expected first-quarter net and revenue. BlackRock (BLK) besides gained 0.9% pursuing its ain net beat, portion Morgan Stanley (MS) shares stayed level contempt beardown show crossed its large concern lines. Wells Fargo (WFC) slipped 3.8%, underperforming its peers.

Big Tech names besides posted flimsy gains astatine the open. Google genitor Alphabet (GOOGL) roseate 1.3%, Microsoft (MSFT) gained 0.4%, and Apple (AAPL) roseate conscionable nether 0.3%.

The cautiously optimistic code suggests that portion concerns implicit tariffs and governmental volatility stay apical of mind, firm results — particularly from cardinal fiscal players — are offering immoderate reassurance to investors arsenic net play kicks off.

However, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon cautioned that the system is facing “considerable turbulence,” highlighting risks from “sticky inflation,” precocious fiscal deficits, elevated plus prices, and escalating “tariffs and ‘trade wars.’” He pointed to analysts’ revised earning estimates for S&P 500 arsenic a imaginable motion of symptom to come.

Appearing connected CNBC (CMCSA) Friday, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink echoed Dimon’s sentiments, saying that helium expects a “slowdown” crossed the board, and that the U.S. whitethorn beryllium successful a recession soon – if it isn’t already.

Overnight, China announced a steep escalation successful its commercialized retaliation, raising tariffs connected U.S. imports from 84% to 125%. Chinese officials said the caller rates efficaciously render U.S. goods uncompetitive — and that immoderate further tariff increases from Washington would beryllium treated arsenic economically irrelevant.

Meanwhile, golden surged to a grounds precocious supra $3,200 an ounce arsenic the enslaved selloff resumed and investors fled U.S. assets.

Long-dated Treasury yields spiked again, signaling persistent fears implicit ostentation and argumentation volatility. The U.S. dollar besides slid, with the ICE Dollar Index down much than 1% to its lowest level successful astir 3 years. Deutsche Bank (DB) analysts quoted by the New York Times cited the “radical imaginativeness and volatile policy” of the Trump medication arsenic a large crushed for the depreciation of cardinal U.S. assets.

Consumer-facing companies are besides opening to pass of downstream effects.