Economic Disruption Rooted In Trump Tariffs Begin to Show Up In Corporate Outlook

Barry Adams
29 Apr, 2025
New York City

Stock market indexes in New York struggled to advance after rising for five consecutive sessions. 

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.4% as investors awaited earnings from leading tech companies this week. 

About 200 companies are scheduled to release quarterly results this week, including Apple Inc., Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms. 

Stocks of leading tech companies could face headwinds despite reporting results that may surpass market expectations amid uncertainties induced by the Trump administration's trade policy. 

The key trade partners of the U.S., including Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the European Union, are likely to target tech companies in retaliation for the Trump administration's high import taxes. 

On the economic front, investors are awaiting the release of nonfarm payrolls on Friday, and the monthly report could provide early clues about how the labor market is adjusting to the sharp increase in import taxes.  

 

Job Openings Edged Lower In March

The job openings report released today showed a decline in openings, but quits and layoffs held steady, indicating little impact from the surge in tariffs on imported goods so far. 

The job openings in the U.S. fell by 288,000 to 7.192 million in March and dropped to the lowest in six months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Meanwhile, hires held at 5.4 million, and total separations changed little at 5.1 million, according to the monthly update.

Within separations, quits were unchanged at 3.3 million, and layoffs and discharges edged down to 1.6 million. 

 

Record High U.S. Goods Trade Deficit In March

The U.S. trade deficit soared to $161 billion in March from $92.8 billion a year ago, as importers and retailers front-loaded goods ahead of the aggressive import tax proposed by the Trump administration. 

The trade deficit soared by $14.1 billion from $147.8 billion in February, according to the monthly report released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday. 

Exports increased by 1.2%or $2.2 billion to $180.8 billion, and imports advanced by 5% or $16.3 billion to $342.7 billion from the previous month, respectively. 

Exports jumped 6.8% and imports soared 30.8% in March from a year ago, respectively.

 

Commodities, Currencies, Indexes, Yields

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.1% to 5,522.48, the Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.2% to 17,328.62, and the Russell 2000 index was down 0.3% to 1,960.01.

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged lower to 3.70%, 10-year Treasury notes increased to 4.22%, and 30-year Treasury bonds advanced to 4.69%.

WTI crude oil decreased $1.05 to $61.00 a barrel, and natural gas prices edged higher by $0.03 to $3.38 a thermal unit.

Gold decreased by $21.81 to 3,315.75 an ounce, and silver edged up by $0.30 to $33.40.

The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of foreign currencies, increased by 0.08 to 99.09, and it traded at the lowest level since April 2022.

 

U.S. Stock Movers 

F5 Networks added 0.7% to $263.35, and the cloud-based application security company reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings in the fiscal second quarter. 

General Motors decreased 2% to $46.23, and the vehicle maker reported better-than-expected earnings and revenues in the first quarter. 

The automotive company is reviewing its annual earnings outlook because of the uncertainties linked to the constantly changing trade policy of the Trump administration, and the company is suspending its stock buyback.

Leggett & Platt soared 14.5% to $8.35, and the diversified manufacturer of engineered components reaffirmed its annual outlook. 

The company stressed that the Trump administration's tariff could benefit but cautioned that weakening consumer confidence and the resurgent inflation could hurt demand. 

Woodward, Inc. jumped 3.2% to $187.41, and the aerospace parts maker reported strong results for the fiscal second quarter.