NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising Tuesday as companies report fatter profits than expected, and other U.S. investments are also steadying themselves a day after sliding sharply on worries about President Donald Trump's trade war and his attacks on the head of the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 was 1% higher in early trading and on track to recover more than a third of Monday’s drop. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 417 points, or 1.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% higher.
The value of the U.S. dollar also stabilized after sliding against the euro and other competitors, while Treasury yields were holding steadier. Sharp, unusual moves in those markets recently have raised worries that uncertainty created by Trump's policies are making investors more skeptical that U.S. investments still deserve their reputations as some of the world's safest.
Some signs of nervousness remain in financial markets. Gold continued to rise, as it holds onto its reputation as a safer investment when fear is dominating markets. The Japanese yen, another investment that tends to rise in a knee-jerk reaction during fearful times, also continued to rise against the dollar.
But a suite of better-than-expected profit reports from big U.S. companies nevertheless drove U.S. stocks higher.
3M climbed 4.7% after the maker of Scotch tape and Command strips said it made more in profit from each $1 of revenue during the start of the year than it expected. The company also stood by its forecast for profit for the full year, possibly up to $7.90 per share, though it said tariffs may drag down its earnings per share by up to 40 cents per share.
Homebuilder PulteGroup rose 5% after it likewise delivered a stronger profit for the start of 2025 than analysts expected.
It’s been benefiting from the sharp moves in the bond market. The unusual drops for Treasury yields recently are translating into lower rates for mortgages for potential customers. The concurrent drops for stock prices, though, are likely also scaring some potential buyers.
CEO Ryan Marshall said buyers “remain caught between a strong desire for homeownership and the affordability challenges of high selling prices and monthly payments that are stretched.”
Tesla rose 1.7% ahead of its earnings report, which is scheduled to arrive after trading ends for the day. That trimmed its loss for the year so far below 43%. Elon Musk's electric car company has already reported that its first-quarter car sales dropped by 13% from the same time last year. That decline occurred against a backdrop of vandalism, widespread protests and calls for a consumer boycott amid a backlash to Musk's high-profile role in the White House overseeing a cost-cutting purge of U.S. government agencies.
Boeing climbed 1.7% after agreeing to sell its Jeppesen business, which offers navigation data and other services, along with other parts of its digital aviation solutions unit for $10.55 billion in cash to Thoma Bravo, a software investment firm.
Stocks also showed how Trump’s tariffs could create winners and losers in a remade global economy.
First Solar jumped 8.5% after the U.S. Department of Commerce finalized harsher-than-expected solar tariffs on some southeast Asian communities.
Kimberly-Clark fell 3% even though the maker of Huggies and Kleenex reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
CEO Mike Hsu said that “the current environment will now mean greater costs across our global supply chain” than what it expected at the start of the year, and the company lowered its forecast for an underlying measure of profit this year.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.37% from 4.42% late Monday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in modest moves across Europe and Asia. ___
AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
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