By Krystal Hur

U.S. stocks ended Tuesday with muted losses and investors still parsing signals on what Washington's trade war will mean for American industries and markets.

"It seems like the market is sitting around waiting to see what the next tweet will be, or if China and Trump decide to negotiate," said Chip Rewey, chief investment officer at Rewey Asset Management. "So, you have a little bit of a sleepy session."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, or 155.83 points. The S&P 500 lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite barely budged, finishing less than 0.1% lower.

The market's week began Monday with major indexes rising for a second-straight session after President Trump continued to signal he would exempt certain products and industries from levies on imported goods, including electronics and cars. The government also said recently it had opened new probes that could lead to pharma and semiconductor tariffs.

On Tuesday, investors appeared more pensive. Stocks fluctuated through the session, opening higher on the strength of strong earnings reports from some of the biggest banks before fading in the afternoon.

The price of gold, a traditional haven, rose to $3,218.70 a troy ounce, near Friday's record. Meanwhile, oil prices fell. The price of U.S. oil futures slipped 0.3% to $61.33. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, declined 0.3% to $64.67.

Boeing's stock fell 2.4% after Beijing told Chinese airlines not to place new orders for its planes, which would entrench one of America's flagship manufacturers in the tense trade war between the world's two largest economies.

A strong showing from big bank earnings helped send stocks higher Tuesday morning. Shares of Bank of America and Citigroup rose 3.6% and 1.8%, respectively, after they reported that consumer spending rose during the first quarter despite emerging fears about tariffs.

Some beaten-down tech stocks rebounded. Nvidia rose about 1.4% and Tesla climbed 0.7%. Palantir and Broadcom, favored among individual investors, added 6.2% and 0.3%, respectively.

Tom Hulick, chief executive of Strategy Asset Managers, says he remains optimistic about the Magnificent Seven tech stocks and other tech companies that have been battered by Trump's trade policies. His firm bought shares of Broadcom in recent weeks, taking advantage of the steep declines.

"There's still a digestion period that we are experiencing, given the implications of the Trump tariff agenda that's out there," said Hulick. "It's important for us to focus on the earnings season."

Still, he says he is hoping that Trump will dispel some of the uncertainty surrounding tariffs after implementing a 90-day pause on reciprocal levies for all trading partners except for China.

"We're looking for more clarity," said Hulick. "We're hoping that the transparency that the Trump administration is projecting out there will eventually settle things down."

Tariff uncertainty reverberated across international markets, too. In Europe, luxury stocks sank after industry heavyweight LVMH reported a drop in sales. The firm is contending with mounting trade tensions and faltering Chinese demand.

Write to Krystal Hur at krystal.hur@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 15, 2025 16:47 ET (20:47 GMT)

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