The broader market was muted on Monday as market participants look ahead towards another busy week of earnings reports and economic data. Investors are also looking for more clarity on the state of trade deal negotiations between the United States and China.
The S&P 500 Index ticked above the flatline and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped about 0.1% lower as more than 180 companies on the S&P 500 are set to release earnings reports this week, including tech giants Amazon
Here's how the market settled on Monday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
On Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box," its "up to China to de-escalate," trade tensions between the two nations, calling the high tariffs of 125% on U.S. imports and 145% on Chinese imports are "unsustainable."
President Donald Trump said in an interview with Time magazine released last week that he expects to reach deals with many trading partners over the next few weeks. Trump has also signaled that there may be exemptions for duties on auto parts after the White House suspended tariffs on some consumer tech. Meanwhile, the baseline 10% tariff remains in effect since it was rolled out on April 5, impacting all imports into the U.S.
Apollo Global Management is forecasting a severe U.S. recession in the coming months, spurred on by widespread layoffs in the trucking and retail sectors as tariffs reduce container ship voyages from China. The firm predicts that domestic freight activity will slow by mid-May, sparking mass layoffs that as these supply-chain disruptions lead to inventory shortages.
"The consequence will be empty shelves in U.S. stores in a few weeks and COVID-like shortages for consumers and for firms using Chinese products as intermediate goods," Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo, wrote in a note to clients on Friday.
The majority of more than 300 economists polled by Reuters throughout April said tariffs have a "negative" impact on business sentiment. Moreover, three-quarters of those surveyed slashing their 2025 global growth forecast, bringin the median outlook to 2.7% from 3.0% in a January poll.
"It's hard enough for firms to think about July right now where they don't know what the reciprocal tariffs are," said James Rossiter, head of global macro strategy at TD Securities, quoted by Reuters. "Try and plan another year down the road. I mean, who knows what it looks like, let alone five years down the road."
The S&P 500 has fallen more than 1% throughout April and is about 10% below its recent high reached in February, brining the broader market index in correction territory. The index briefly entered a bear market, or 20% below its recent high, on April 7 and has somewhat recovered from those lows. The Dow is also on track to lose more than 4% this month, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq has risen about 0.4%.
In the News:
International Business Machines Corporation
"We have been focused on American jobs and manufacturing since our founding 114 years ago, and with tis investment and manufacturing commitment we are ensuring that IBM remains the epicenter of the world's most advanced computing and AI capabilities," CEO Arvind Krishna said in a release.
Looking Ahead:
Wall Street is gearing up for another busy week of economic data alongside major earnings reports, with key reports including April's jobs report due out Friday and consumer inflation data slated for release Wednesday.
