Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 05, 2025, in New York City. F
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Stocks rose on Wednesday, staging a recovery rally after back-to-back losses as an exemption for automakers on President Donald Trump’s tariffs offered hope for more concessions.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added 0.9% and 1.1%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded by 503 points, or 1%, regaining some ground after plunging more than 1,300 points over the last two sessions.
The White House said it granted a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Stellantis surged more than 7%, while Ford and General Motors each added about 4% and 5%, respectively. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was open to providing additional exemptions on the taxes.
Still, uncertainty lingered as Trump said Canada’s fentanyl efforts were “not good enough” in a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It’s unclear if this automaker delay was the tariff-related announcement that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said to expect on Wednesday.
Trump’s tariffs — and subsequent announcements of retaliatory plans from China, Mexico and Canada — have rocked markets this week. Even with Wednesday’s respite, the three major indexes are all down about 1% on the week. The three indexes swung between positive and negative territory Wednesday, underscoring the market volatility as investors tracked the status of tariff policy.
What’s more, the S&P 500 on Tuesday officially wiped out its gains since it closed on Election Day in November. The Nasdaq Composite sat within striking distance of correction territory at points during Wednesday’s session.
Elsewhere, a reading on the health of the service sector released Wednesday morning came in slightly better than economists expected, briefly boosting the market. But the ADP private payroll report released earlier in the day showed less job growth than anticipated, adding yet another data point to the growing body of evidence indicating the economy was cooling.
“The tariffs alone aren’t enough to hurt the economy in a noticeable way,” said Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer at Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management. “But when you take tariffs, plus broader worries about the economy, and a Fed that still might take its time on lowering rates, that’s when you start to wonder if the record highs in stocks from earlier this year were justified.”
