Stocks extended gains for the third-straight trading session on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 486.83 points, or 1.23%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.03% and 2.74%, respectively.
The major indexes opened mixed on Thursday after China said there are no ongoing talks with the U.S. on tariffs.
Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong said on Thursday that "Any claims about the progress of China-U.S. trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis," according to The Associated Press.
"The unilateral tariff increase measures were initiated by the United States. If the United States really wants to solve the problem, it should face up to the rational voices of the international community and all parties at home, completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, and find ways to resolve differences through equal dialogue," he continued.
Stocks ended Wednesday’s session in the green, though well off session highs, after President Donald Trump
softened his stance on firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and signaled tariffs on China could come down "substantially."
The Dow climbed 419.59 points, or 1.07%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 1.67% and 2.5%, respectively. The Dow was up by as much as 1,100 at session highs.
(Photo by Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB) / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The White House is moving along with trade negotiations with India, according to FOX Business' Charlie Gasparino.
The U.S. and Canada are top trading partners for India. Vice President J.D. Vance has been visiting the country this week.
Prime Minister Modi has close relations with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a relationship that was established before his role as a key advisor to President Trump.
The S&P 500, which fell into correction territory in early April, is close to erasing that 10% drop.
S P 500.
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5465.63
The broadest measure of the U.S. stock market is currently up more than 9% from that most recent low and needs to close 105.19 points to secure that fresh milestone.
Technology, communication and material stocks are leading the gains Thursday, while consumer staples and utilities are lagging.
Hasbro shares are up 15%, the best one-day percentage gain since March 2020, according to Dow Jones Market Data Group.
The toymaker said it did not see any material impact of Trump's tariffs in the first quarter and the company remains on track for $1 billion in cost savings. Additionally, it maintained its full-year guidance of $1.1 billion to $1.15 billion in revenue.
The quarter was driven by Wizards of the Coast and the digital gaming segment.
Mortgage rates dip from prior week, Freddie Mac says
A house for sale in West Islip, New York. (Getty Images)
Mortgage rates slipped this week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.
Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage fell slightly to 6.81% from last week's reading of 6.83%.The average rate on a 30-year loan was 7.17% a year ago.
"Over the last couple of months, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has fluctuated less than 20 basis points, and this stability continues to bode well for buyers and sellers alike," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said Boeing should "default China" after Beijing's decision to stop taking the aerospace giant's commercial airliners.
"Boeing should default China for not taking the beautifully finished planes that China committed to purchase. This is just a small example of what China has done to the USA, for years," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The post comes days after Reuters reported that Chinese airlines have begun returning Boeing aircraft to the U.S., with one 737 Max recently landing back at a Boeing production hub in Seattle over the weekend.
Saturday’s return occurred shortly after China ordered its airlines not to take further deliveries of Boeing aircraft in response to the U.S. imposing 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, Bloomberg News reported last week.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said on Wednesday that China is the only country where Boeing has encountered problems with aircraft deliveries due to the Trump administration's tariffs, though he noted that the company is monitoring potential retaliation by Europe and is in regular contact with the White House.
Southwest Airlines became the latest U.S. carrier to withdraw its financial forecast as President Donald Trump's trade war has created the biggest uncertainty for the industry since the COVID-19 pandemic.
With little clarity on how consumers will behave in the face of a potentially worsening economy, airlines are struggling to accurately forecast their business.
Travel is a discretionary item for many consumers and businesses. With the trade war raising the prospect of slower economic growth and higher inflation, both tourists and corporations are sitting tight, leading to a pullback in travel spending.
Southwest said it is not able to reaffirm its previous forecast of $1.7 billion in earnings before interest and taxes in 2025 and about $3.8 billion in 2026.
"Amid the current macroeconomic uncertainty, it is difficult to forecast given recent and short-lived booking trends," the company said.
Intel helped pace the gains of the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite
with the chipmaker's earnings on tap after the close of trading. Nvidia and AMD also rose.
Investors are eyeing a possible confirmation of a 20% cut to the workforce, as reported by Bloomberg.
Intel shares have gained over 5% this year, fueled by the appointment of new CEO Lip-Bu Tan in March.
China not negotiating with US on trade war, Beijing says
China is not negotiating with the U.S. over tariffs, Beijing declared Thursday, despite President Donald Trump recently suggesting the 145% tax on its imports could be reduced "substantially."
Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong said, "Any claims about the progress of China-U.S. trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis," according to the Associated Press.
"The unilateral tariff increase measures were initiated by the United States. If the United States really wants to solve the problem, it should face up to the rational voices of the international community and all parties at home, completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, and find ways to resolve differences through equal dialogue," he continued.
"China’s position is consistent and we are open to consultations and dialogues, but any form of consultations and negotiations must be conducted on the basis of mutual respect and in an equal manner," he reportedly added.
This is an excerpt from a Fox Business article by Greg Norman. To read more, click here.
Congress should shield Fed from political influence, Trump, Republican task force chief says
President Donald Trump looks on as Jerome Powell, his nominee to become chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 2, 2017. Reuters/Carlos Barria/File Photo
The Federal Reserve needs to be protected from political influence, including President Donald Trump, a Republican lawmaker in charge of scrutinizing the central bank’s monetary police said.
Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., told Reuters in an interview Thursday that Trump “made a wise decision” this week in stating he had no intention of firing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
"Between the tariffs, wars and all the things going on around the planet, we didn't need any more uncertainty in the financial industry,” said Lucas, who chairs the House Financial Services Task Force on Monetary Policy, Treasury Market Resilience and Economic Prosperity. “We didn't need any more uncertainty in the markets. The president made the right call."
Lucas said that he wants his 14-member task force to identify policy initiatives that can remove some of the uncertainty plaguing the markets, such as bolstering the Fed's independence and improving Treasury bond market liquidity – enough to win bipartisan support across Congress.
"Demonstrating that monetary policy is not going to be a political game of whoever the president is – and not just this president, but the next two or three or five or 10 presidents – I think that would be a stabilizing force," Lucas said.
Beijing, Washington have not held trade talks, Chinese officials say
China and the U.S. have not held any talks on trade, Chinese officials said Thursday after President Donald Trump expressed optimism over a potential trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier in the week.
A Chinese ministry spokesperson said there have been no consultations or negotiations on tariffs between the world’s two largest economies when asked to confirm reports of the talks.
He Yadong, a spokesman for China's commerce ministry, further confirmed there have not been any economic or trade negotiations between the two countries.
He told reporters at a regular news briefing on Thursday that if the U.S. “truly” wanted to solve the trade issue, it should pay attention to the "rational voices" of the international community and domestic parties and lift all unilateral tariff measures against China.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, however, told Fox News' “America Reports” that “there will be no unilateral reduction in tariffs against China.”
“The president has made it clear, China needs to make a deal with the United States of America,” Leavitt said. “And we are optimistic that will happen.”
Earlier this month, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%. Beijing then retaliated with 125% duties levied on U.S. imports.
Trump considering exemptions for automakers on some tariffs: reports
Experts told Fox Business that AI tools are helping car dealers conduct business with customers concerned about the impact of tariffs (Andrew Harnik/Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
President Donald Trump said he is considering exemptions for automakers from some tariffs, the White House confirmed to CNBC.
This confirmation comes after a Financial Times report that Trump was planning to exempt auto parts from tariffs on imports from China.
It would, however, leave in place the 25% tariff Trump imposed on all imports of foreign-made cars. The 25% duty on foreign-imported car parts would also continue, according to the report.
Trump reportedly said a 25% tariff imposed on cars imported from Canada to the U.S. could even possibly go up.
“When I put tariffs on Canada — they’re paying 25% — but that could go up, in terms of cars,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “All we’re doing is we’re saying, ‘We don’t want your cars, in all due respect. We want, really, to make our own cars.’”
Nobody talks about these 'very positive' things for the economy, reveals economist
Committee to Unleash Prosperity co-founder Steve Moore weighed in on the state of the economy on the 'The Bottom Line.'
Moore says that although it’s been a brutal month for the stock market there have been very positive things too.
“Look, you know people have lost money, I've lost money, you guys have probably lost money in the stock market, but I find a couple of things quite annoying,” he said. “One is that -- look and I'm not always in favor of the stuff that Trump is doing on trade I'm much more of a free trader than he is, but I think at the end of the day he will probably prevail here.
Moore went on to say that there are other things Trump is doing for the economy that “very positive.”
“Look at all of the other things that he is doing on the economy, the cutting of taxes, giving Americans a huge tax cut, the pro-American energy policies that are going to reduce gasoline prices and have more energy jobs here at home,” said Moore.
“How about DOGE saving $500, a billion to a trillion dollars in waste out of our government. How about, you know the fact that he secured the border for the first time in many, many years,” he went on. “All of these things are very positive for the economy. Nobody talks about that. All they're talking about is the tariffs.”
Moore said he believes if Trump can get these plans in motion by Memorial Day “you're going to see the biggest rally you ever saw on the stock market once those two things get done.”
Boeing CEO told investors the airplane maker can navigate global tariffs and that President Trump's tough stance won't derail its turnaround. Shares gained over 6% on Wednesday.
U.S. Secretary Scott Bessent sent an optimistic message about the tariff negotiations between the U.S. and China as well as what it means for the U.S. economy.
