Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Stock Market News For Mar 26, 2025

Read MoreHide Full Article

U.S. stocks ended higher on Tuesday on optimism that President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which go into effect from April 2, will be less aggressive than previously expected. Investors also looked past fresh data that showed consumer confidence fell to a new low. All three major indexes ended in positive territory.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gained 0.01% or 4.18 points, to end at 42,587.50 points.  

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% or 9.08 points, to close at 5,776.65 points. Consumer discretionary, communication services and financial stocks were the biggest gainers. 

The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) advanced 1.3%, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) rose 0.8%. The Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) gained 0.6%. Six of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.5% or 83.26 points to finish at 18,271.86 points. 

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 1.89% to 17.15. A total of 13 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 16.4 billion.

Stocks Gain as Trump’s Tariff Fears Ease

On Tuesday, positive investor sentiment helped stocks extend their gains from the previous session. They even looked past the latest consumer confidence data that showed consumer confidence fell to 92.9 in March, which came in lower than the consensus estimate of reading of 93.5.

The Expectations Index, a gauge of the consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, fell 9.6 points to 65.2, its lowest level in 12 years.  

High inflation and the uncertainty over the impact of Trump’s tariffs on the economy have been worrying investors. However, on Tuesday, investors shrugged off those concerns as they believe that Trump’s reciprocal tariffs would be more flexible and narrower in scope. 

Trump said on Monday that he may give some countries breaks on reciprocal tariffs and sector-specific tariffs could be delayed further. This came as a major relief to investors, who were concerned that Trump’s policies could attract retaliatory tariffs, which could push the economy into a recession. 

Stocks rallied on Tuesday on this optimism. Shares of Apple Inc. ((AAPL - Free Report) ) gained 1.4%, while NVIDIA Corporation ((NVDA - Free Report) ) declined 0.6%. NVIDIA carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Economic Data    

In other economic data released on Tuesday, home prices increased 4.1% year over year in January. Case-Shiller’s 10-city index rose 5.3% year over year while the 20-city index jumped 4.7% from year-ago levels. 

Separate data from the Commerce Department showed that new home sales rose 1.8% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000 units. 


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Apple Inc. (AAPL) - free report >>

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) - free report >>

Published in