The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both closed higher on Tuesday, after a topsy-turvy day on Wall Street dominated by investor angst ahead of the impending tariff announcements from the Trump administration.
Financial markets have been volatile in recent weeks as investors assessed the economic fallout of US President Donald Trump’s extensive tariff plans, which have sparked worries about a US economic slowdown and higher inflation.
Some of the uncertainty that has gripped markets is expected to dissipate after Trump unveils his tariff plan on Wednesday during an event in the Rose Garden, currently scheduled for 7am AEDT on Thursday.
However, while clarity on the specific tariff measures will be welcomed by investors, the overall backdrop is set to remain highly uncertain, making it difficult for markets to agree on directionality.
“The fact of the matter is sentiment is washed out and positioning is still fairly light,” said Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions.
“I don’t think we’re going to get the type of clarity that investors and business leaders want,” he added. “And at the end of the day, we spend a lot of time talking about tariffs, but the bigger story is we are dealing with an economy that is not firing on all cylinders.”
For now, according to Melson, this means investors are “sitting on their hands, biding their time.”
This attitude was reflected in the three Wall Street benchmarks on Tuesday, which swung between positive and negative territory throughout much of the day, before finishing the afternoon with some decent momentum.
