U.S. stock markets closed higher on Wednesday after a choppy session sidelining fears regrading Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. Nevertheless, market participants remained concerned of Trump’s tariffs, higher inflation rate and fear of a near-term recession. Several better-than-expected economic data also strengthened investors’ sentiment on risky assets like equities. All three major stock indexes ended in positive territory.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was up 0.6% or 235.36 points to close at 42,225.32. At intraday high, the blue-chip index was up nearly 392.31 points. On the other hand, at intraday low, the index was down 360.30 points. Notably, 19 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory and 11 finished in negative zone. 

The major gainer of the index was The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS Quick QuoteGS - Free Report) . The stock price of the investment bank giant rose 2.7%. The Goldman Sachs Group currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 17,601.05, gaining 0.7% or 151.15 points due to strong performance by technology bigwigs. In intraday low, the tech-laden index was down nearly 268.62 points and at intraday high the index was up more than 266.63 points. Nasdaq Composite is currently in correction territory. 

The S&P 500 rallied 0.7% to finish at 5,670.97. In intraday high, Wall Street’s most observed benchmark was up 62.24 points and at intraday low, the index was down 38.41 points. 10 out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory and one in negative zone. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) increased 1.9% while the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) decreased 0.3%.  

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 1.2% to 21.51. A total of 15.09 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 15.83 billion. 

Markets Wait for Trump’s Tariffs

On Apr 2, after the closing bell, President Donald Trump is set to announce reciprocal tariffs on all imported goods in the United States across the world. Trump called Apr 2 as America’s “liberation day.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters “My understanding is that the tariff announcement will come tomorrow. They will be effective immediately.”

Market participants are nervously waiting for the announcement and will perform a microscopic analysis regarding the impact of these tariffs on the United States as well as global trade and economic growth. Special attention will be about the impact on inflation rates.

Economic Data

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP Quick QuoteADP - Free Report) reported that private payrolls in March came in at 155,000, significantly higher-than the previous month’s upwardly revised data of 84,000. The consensus estimate was 120,000. Average hourly earnings for workers those stayed in their positions rose 4.6% year over year and for those who changed jobs increased 6.5%. 

Industry wise, professional and business services added 57,000 jobs, financial activities recruited 38,000 people, manufacturing added 21,000 jobs and leisure and hospitality recruited 17,000 people. On the downside, trade, transportation and utilities saw a loss of 6,000 jobs and natural resources and mining declined by 3,000.

New orders for factory manufactured goods in February, up two consecutive months, increased 0.6%, beating the consensus estimate \of 0.5%. The metric for January was revised upward to 1.8% from 1.7% reported earlier. Shipments of factory-made goods increased 0.7% in February. New orders for manufactured durable goods in February increased 1% while new orders for manufactured non-durable goods rose 0.3%.