U.S. stocks advanced midday Tuesday, demonstrating resilience despite escalating geopolitical tensions and trade uncertainties between the world’s two largest economies.
China responded to President Donald Trump‘s 10% import tariff with targeted countermeasures, including restrictions on key mineral exports to the U.S. and tariffs on American energy products.
Beijing is raising tariffs by 10%-15% on select U.S. imports, including coal, liquefied natural gas, crude oil, agricultural machinery and vehicles. Additionally, China added PVH Corp. (NYSE:PVH) and Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) to its “Unreliable Entity List,” citing the need to “safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests,” and opened an antitrust investigation on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)(NASDAQ:GOOG).
Market participants had anticipated a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, but media reports indicated the conversation would not happen today.
The trade developments had an immediate impact on oil markets, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures plunging 3% overnight to as low as $70 per barrel.
Yet, prices rebounded sharply Tuesday morning following reports that Trump is considering issuing a memorandum aimed at inflicting maximum economic damage on Iran, potentially leading to a sharp decline in Iranian oil production.
Energy stocks outperformed on the day, while utilities lagged.
Among individual stocks, Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) rocketed 22% after posting strong earnings and a revenue beat.
In the commodities market, gold added more than 1%, extending its all-time high, and …
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