Wall Street on Tuesday rebounded from a heavy sell-off in the previous session, helped by a rise in technology stocks led by Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD).
Heightened uncertainty over global trade and artificial intelligence disruption fears had clouded sentiment on Monday.
At 11:15 ET (16:15 GMT), the benchmark S&P 500 index was up 0.6% to 6,881.43 points, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite climbed 1% to 22,855.80 points, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by 0.8% to 49,202.06 points.
The Dow closed 1.7% lower the previous day, while the Nasdaq declined 1.1%, and the S&P shed around 1% and slipped into the red for the year.
The losses followed a report from Citrini Research which posited a dire hypothetical scenario for the coming years in which AI sparks a wave of mass unemployment among white collar workers, dents consumer spending, drives loan defaults, and ultimately leads to economic contraction.
Trade uncertainty; FedEx sues over tariff refunds
Markets continue to fret over the future of global trade, after U.S. President Donald Trump’s new global trade tariffs went into effect at a 10% level at midnight on Tuesday after a Supreme Court ruling last week struck down his so-called “reciprocal” levies.
The 10% level was communicated through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s messaging service, and is lower than the 15% tariff touted by Trump over the weekend. However, the White House is working on a delivering a formal order raising the rate to 15%, Bloomberg News has reported.
Given the murky outlook for Trump’s trade agenda, uncertainty has surrounded the path ahead for specific deals his administration agreed to with a variety of trading partners. Trump, confronted with some countries reportedly beginning to reassess whether these accords are still standing in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, warned them in a social media post not to “play games.”
Adding the general uncertainty, FedEx (NYSE:FDX) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Monday, seeking a “full refund” for the emergency tariffs paid over the past year.
FedEx is the first company to seek refunds after the Supreme Court decision, and joins a whole host of firms legally challenging Trump’s tariffs.
The Supreme Court decision left it unclear just what will be done with the revenue collected from Trump’s illegal tariffs, which is estimated at more than $160 billion.
Home Depot results impress
The earnings calendar on Tuesday was headlined by Home Depot (NYSE:HD). The world’s largest home-improvement retailer delivered an unexpected increase in quarterly comparable sales. Top boss Ted Decker said, factoring out the impact of storms, underlying demand was “relatively stable” throughout 2025.
Shares of Home Depot rose more than 3%.
“Higher prices helped lift (Home Depot’s) results, with average ticket rising 2.4% YoY, despite a 1.6% decline in transactions. Its growing focus on professional contractors—bolstered by acquisitions like SRS Distribution and GMS—also helped offset softer DIY demand, as pro sales outpaced DIY in the quarter,” Zak Stambor, principal analyst at Emarketer, said.
“Retailers tied to the housing market still face a challenging road ahead. Limited housing mobility, weaker consumer confidence, labor market pressures, and broader uncertainty are all weighing on spending,” he added.
Tech rebounds
Calm and stability returned to the tech sector following the panic caused by the Citrini Research report on Monday, amid some big names forging new partnerships.
AMD stock surged about 7% after it announced an expanded agreement with Facebook-parent Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) to supply chips for AI infrastructure.
Meanwhile, select software stocks gained after a wave of new deals tied to AI tools from Anthropic, most notably Thomson Reuters with a nearly 12% advance.
The focus is now on quarterly earnings from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), due on Wednesday. The world’s most valuable company is widely regarded as a bellwether for AI demand, and is expected to report strong earnings growth from last year.
Crude near seven-month highs
Oil prices remained near seven-month highs ahead of a fresh round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks later in the week.
Brent futures had given up earlier gains to trade flat at $71.11 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were now down 0.2% to $66.19 a barrel.
Both contracts are currently trading around levels last seen in early August 2025.
Iran and the U.S. are set to hold a third round of nuclear talks on Thursday in Geneva, amid growing concerns about the risk of a military conflict as Washington seeks the end of Iran’s nuclear program.
Source : investing.com