MARKET SNAPSHOT

U.S. stocks ended higher on growing hopes that the U.S. and China can reach an agreement to lower punitive tariffs. Treasury yields fell as indicators supported expectations of a Fed hold on rates in May. Oil was higher, aided by a weaker dollar by higher equities. Gold rose, snapping a two-session losing streak and hitting its third-highest close.

MARKET WRAPS

EQUITIES

Stocks were sharply higher for a third straight session.

The Nasdaq Composite was up more than 2.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added more than 1%, and the broad-based S&P 500 rose 2%.

President Trump said Wednesday his team was "actively" talking to Beijing about trade, after The Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. was considering slashing its China tariffs. Beijing played down hopes Thursday for an imminent rapprochement, saying it hasn't held negotiations with the U.S., "let alone reached an agreement."

Earlier Thursday, Chinese shares ended mostly lower, weighed by software and hardware stocks. Bank stocks rose broadly.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended flat while the Shenzhen Composite Index and the ChiNext Price Index were both 0.7% lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.7% lower, weighed by consumer stocks.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended 0.5% higher, supported by financial and automobile stocks.

Stocks in Australia rose, with the S&P/ASX 200 gaining 0.6%, while stocks in New Zealand rose, with the S&P/NZX 50 rising 0.5%.

COMMODITIES

Oil futures recovered some of the previous day's losses brought on by oversupply concerns, with equities moving higher and the dollar weaker during a lull in tariff-driven volatility.

West Texas Intermediate for May delivery settled up 0.8% at $62.79 a barrel while Brent crude gained 0.7% to $66.55 a barrel.

Crude is navigating a fragile recovery from early April lows, with trade deals still in limbo and demand recovery uncertain, said Razan Hilal, of Forex.com.

April gold futures gained 1.7% to $3332.00 -- snapping a two session losing streak.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Home Sales in March Fell 5.9%, Biggest Drop Since 2022

Sales of existing homes in March posted their biggest monthly decline in more than two years, after mounting economic uncertainty roiled the housing market at the start of the critical spring selling season.

U.S. existing-home sales fell 5.9% in March from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That marked the biggest month-over-month decline since November 2022. It was also the slowest sales pace for any March since 2009, which was near the peak of the financial crisis.The sharp drop in sales dashes early hopes that this spring would offer signs of a turnaround. The season is usually the busiest time for home sales because many buyers with children want to move homes over the summer, and sellers wait until the spring to list their homes to meet that higher demand.

China Bets Trump Will Back Down on Tariffs

BEIJING-President Trump's apparent softening on tariffs against China in recent days has buoyed markets and raised hopes for a detente between the world's two largest economies. For Chinese leaders, it only strengthens their resolve that Trump will eventually cave if they wait him out.

After weeks of spiraling hostilities, Trump now says he is willing to cut tariffs on Chinese goods. His administration is considering slashing levies in some cases by more than half in a bid to de-escalate tensions with Beijing, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

While such a reprieve would ease anxiety over further escalation, it still wouldn't prevent a painful rupture between the world's two biggest economies. Nor would it likely be enough to satisfy Beijing.

IMF Head Says Uncertainty, Not Tariffs, Is Biggest Economic Threat

The head of the International Monetary Fund stood by the group's contrarian view that the U.S. and the global economy aren't on track for a recession, but stressed the toll of uncertainty and the need for swift resolution of trade disputes.

"The worry I hear isn't [about] tariffs but uncertainty," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said of the concerns she is hearing from the IMF's 191 members. "Uncertainty is really bad for business so the sooner this cloud hanging over our head is lifted the better the prospects for growth."

She spoke at a press briefing at the IMF's spring gathering of central bankers and finance ministers, held together with meetings of the World Bank.

Google Earnings Beat on Strong Margins. The Stock Is Rising.

Shares of Google-parent Alphabet moved higher in late-trading Thursday after the company's first-quarter earnings exceeded expectations.

Adjusted earnings-per-share were solid at $2.81 versus Wall Street's consensus estimate of $2.01,and up from $1.89 last year. Revenue for the quarter reached $90.23 billion, above expectations of $89.17 billion, and up 12% on the year.

Alphabet stock was up 5% in after-hours trading following the release.

Intel unveils turnaround plan, seeking to go back to its engineering roots

Intel Corp. late Thursday unveiled a turnaround plan that aims to return it to its engineering roots, the first major action under new Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan.

Under the plan, Intel INTC would eliminate management layers to enable faster decision-making and focus on empowering engineering talent, "so they make great products," Tan said in a statement.

"We are going back to basics by listening to our customers and making the changes needed to build the new Intel."

Paramount in Talks With FCC Over Diversity Policy Concessions for Merger

The Federal Communications Commission has begun discussing with Paramount Global initial steps the company would need to take to secure the agency's approval of its merger with Skydance Media, according to people close to the discussions.

One action under discussion between the agency and Paramount is a commitment that the company continues to abstain from particular corporate diversity initiatives, the people said. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has urged telecom and media companies to limit their diversity, equity and inclusion policies as a precondition for the agency to consider mergers and acquisitions.

The Paramount-Skydance deal has been under FCC review for months with few signs of progress.

American Airlines Pulls Full-Year Outlook on Concerns Over Travel Demand

American Airlines withdrew its full-year guidance after domestic travel demand declined in the first quarter.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline on Thursday posted a loss of $473 million in the three months ended March 31 compared with a loss of $312 million a year earlier. Stripping out certain one-time items, the adjusted per-share loss was 59 cents, narrower than the 70-cent loss forecast by analysts, according to FactSet. Revenue fell 0.2% to $12.55 billion, close to what analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast.

American's withdrew of full-year financial guidance follows in the footsteps of Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines, which did the same. American expects to make 50 cents a share to $1 a share in adjusted earnings during the second quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet had been anticipating 96 cents a share.

Expected Major Events for Friday

00:30/JPN: Mar Detailed Import & Export Statistics

05:00/SIN: Mar Industrial Production Index

05:30/JPN: Mar Tokyo area department store sales

05:30/JPN: Mar Nationwide department store sales

07:30/THA: Weekly International Reserves

08:30/HK: 2Q Business Expectations - Quarterly Business Tendency Survey

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 24, 2025 16:44 ET (20:44 GMT)

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