Gold bars to be exempt from tariffs, White House clarifies
Investing.com--The S&P 500 eked out a gain, but remained close to all-time highs Wednesday, as investors gauged a ceasefire between Israel and Iran and assessed commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
At 4:00 p.m. ET (20:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106 points, or 0.3% while the S&P 500 index was 0.03% higher and the NASDAQ Composite climbed 0.3%.
Ceasefire appears to be holding
The Israel-Iran ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump appeared to still be in place on Wednesday, a day after the regional rivals said they had ended an air war after 12 days.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump announced the start of the ceasefire, but lashed out at both Israel and Iran for carrying on with attacks that seemed to have already been planned before the agreement was revealed.
Trump previously came in on the side of Israel, ordering air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend, which Trump declared in a social media post on Tuesday had been "completely destroyed."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier Wednesday that Iran is now "much further" away from developing a nuclear weapon following the air strikes, dismissing preliminary reports from U.S. intelligence agencies that suggested that Iran’s enriched uranium stocks were not eradicated by the strikes and the nation’s mostly-underground nuclear program may have only been set back by a couple of months.
Elsewhere, NATO leaders have agreed to a higher defense spending target -- 5% of gross domestic product by 2035 -- marking a potential foreign-policy victory for Trump after his recent demands that the alliance’s partners more than double their expenditure commitments.
Powell returns to Capitol Hill; Trump hits out at Powell, again
Fed Chair Jerome Powell returned to Capitol Hill later Wednesday and continued to caution against sooner rate cuts, warning that there is no guarantee that the impact of tariffs may be a one-off boost to inflation.
If the tariffs conclude quickly, then it’s "very likely it is a one-time thing," the Fed chief said, though cautioned that the Fed has to remain wary of the risks of tariffs causing persistent inflation.
"As the people who are supposed to keep stable prices, we need to manage that risk," Powell said.
Powell was subjected to a grilling from House lawmakers on Tuesday over why the Fed is not moving quickly to slash rates, an often-repeated demand from Trump, but the Fed chairman said officials are wary that price gains could accelerate again soon due to the implementation of elevated U.S. tariffs.
He is also expected to reiterate later Wednesday that the Fed won’t be comfortable cutting interest rates until it sees if prices do begin to rise and whether that process shows signs of becoming more persistent.
Investors will watch Wednesday for data on new home sales, after U.S. consumer confidence dropped more than expected in June, as Americans were becoming more worried about the economy, despite strong job numbers and low unemployment.
One of the biggest reasons for the decline appeared to be rising concerns about inflation and tariffs.
General Mills warns about sales growth; BP pares gains after Shell denies reports of acquisition talks; Nvidia hits record
The earnings slate Wednesday, General Mills (NYSE:GIS) stock fell after the food processing giant warned of weak sales growth and slipping income in its current fiscal year, as it grapples with a tariff-driven operating headwinds.
FedEx (NYSE:FDX) stock slumped after the delivery giant and economic bellwether unveiled a current-quarter profit forecast that missed analysts’ expectations, while human resources company Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) stock fell after the HR management firm reported fourth-quarter top and bottom line that failed to impress.
BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) stock surged higher after the cybersecurity firm raised its annual revenue forecast citing steady demand amid growing online crimes.
BP PLC ADR (NYSE:BP) gave up gains after Shell denied a The Wall Street Journal reported that it was in early talks to acquire its UK rival.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), meanwhile, hit a record high after Loop Capital hiked its price target on the stock to $250 from $175 on expectations that AI adoption will continue to drive demand for AI chips.
Peter Nurse, Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article