
The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 moved higher on Tuesday due to a strong gain in Palantir, as Wall Street sought stable footing following the latest developments on the global trade front.
The tech-heavy index jumped 1.35% to 19,654.02, while the S&P 500 rose 0.72% to 6,037.88. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 134.13 points, or 0.3%, to 44,556.04.
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Palantir shares popped about 24% on fourth-quarter results that beat analysts' expectations and had hit a fresh record high. Other Big Tech names such as Nvidia were moving in sympathy with Palantir's climb. The chip giant advanced 1.7% during the session.
The latest of tariffs
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The Chinese government slapped tariffs of up to 15% on U.S. imports of coal and liquefied natural gas and 10% higher duties on crude oil, farm equipment and selected cars, effective Feb. 10.
The move comes after the U.S. agreed to pause more aggressive levies on Canada and Mexico. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in a post on social media site X on Monday evening that President Donald Trump agreed to halt the implementation of tariffs against Canada for at least 30 days. Earlier on Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that duties on Mexico imports to the U.S. would also be halted for a month.
Stocks are coming off a volatile trading session, in which the major averages made a striking turnaround after an initial global sell-off. Ultimately, the major averages ended Monday well off their lows of the day, but they still booked losses. The 30-stock Dow slipped 0.3%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2%.
Money Report
Jay Hatfield of Infrastructure Capital Advisors thinks investors are "way too negative" on tariffs, noting that a strengthening dollar over the past few months could offset some of the effects. He has an S&P 500 year-end target of 7,000, which implies almost 17% upside from Monday's close.
"These are political tariffs, not economic tariffs, and so they're not going to last," the firm's chief executive told CNBC. "What we do think, which is out of consensus, is that eventually we're going to end up with 5% to 10% tariffs on most imported goods, and that is tolerable."
That includes Europe, Hatfield said. On Sunday, Trump warned that he would impose tariffs on both the European Union and the U.K.
"People [will] freak, and then they'll realize, okay, well actually … we got revenue from that," Hatfield continued. "So, we're pretty hyper-bulled up."
Stocks close Tuesday's session in the green
Stocks finished higher on the second trading day of February.
The broad market S&P 500 rose 0.72% to end the session at 6,037.88, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.35% to close at 19,654.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 134.13 points, or 0.3%, settling at 44,556.04.
— Sean Conlon
Tariffs support view that 2025 is a 'year for buying stocks,' BofA's Cabana says
Some pullbacks in the market in the wake of President Trump's tariffs could uncover opportunities for investors, according to Bank of America.
"We see tariffs as yet another element of support for our view that 2025 is a year for buying stocks, not the S&P 500 index — which is crowded, expensive and has elevated concentration risk," strategist Mark Cabana wrote to clients on Tuesday.
When it comes to the effect of tariffs on the S&P 500, Cabana estimates that 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico as well as a 10% additional tariff on China would translate to a 2% hit to the broad market index's earnings, while bilateral tariffs would result in earnings falling 8%.
— Sean Conlon
Market volatility will continue from here, Verdence Capital Advisors CIO says
There may be more market volatility in store, according to Megan Horneman of Verdence Capital Advisors.
"I don't think the volatility is behind us," the chief investment officer said to CNBC. "We're entering a new year. We're in the third year of a bull market. Valuations are expensive. … You could even say valuations were pricing in perfection, and now they're getting a dose of reality."
Specifically, Horneman expects volatility to continue over the course of the first half of 2025.
"We're still trying to get our footing around what's the inflation picture, what can the Fed do and how strong is the consumer," she continued.
— Sean Conlon
22 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs
Twenty-two stocks in the S&P 500 traded at new 52-week highs during Tuesday's trading session.
Among those, 19 scored fresh all-time highs. Below are some stocks that hit this milestone:
- Fox Corporation Class A trading at all-time highs back to its creation as the portion not acquired by Disney in 2019
- Alphabet C shares trading at all-time highs back to the special distribution on April 2, 2014, when the nonvoting share was created, and it began trading on April 3, 2014
- Live Nation Entertainment trading at all-time-high levels back to its initial public offering in December 2005
- Netflix trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in May 2002
- Amazon trading at all-time-high levels since back to its IPO in May 1997
- Costco trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in December 1985
- Walmart trading at all-time-high levels back to when it first began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in August 1972
- Wells Fargo trading at all-time-high levels back through our history to 1968
- International Business Machines trading at all-time highs back to when it began publicly trading on the New York Stock Exchange in January 1962
- Palantir trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in September 2020
Meanwhile, 14 stocks in the broad market index, including Archer-Daniels-Midland and Hershey, reached new 52-week lows. ADM was trading at lows not seen since November 2020, while Hershey was trading at lows not seen since March 2021.
— Sean Conlon
Vaccine and food stocks fall as Kennedy advances toward confirmation as U.S. health secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the president's pick for U.S. health secretary, cleared a key hurdle as a Senate panel voted to advance his nomination to a vote by the full chamber, where he is likely to be confirmed.
Kennedy is known for being a vaccine skeptic and a critic of ultraprocessed food. Shares of vaccine makers fell in reaction to the news. Moderna shares fell nearly 6%, while BioNTech and Pfizer each fell about 2%. Novavax stock was down about 1%. Meanwhile, other biotech and pharma stocks were higher, with the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) up nearly 1%.
Packaged food companies also were trading lower on Tuesday, with Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and Hershey all down more than 2%. General Mills and J.M. Smucker slipped nearly 2%.
Evercore analyst Sarah Bianchi said food and vaccines are the areas where Kennedy is likely to have the most effect and where she will be focusing the most attention.
"On food, RFK Jr.'s most immediate opportunity for impact will come in the 2025 update to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which is used to guide spending on a host of federal food programs from SNAP to Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to school lunches," she wrote in a research note.
— Christina Cheddar Berk
Leveraged Palantir ETFs surge more than 40%
Palantir's big day is pushing another leveraged ETF into the spotlight.
The GraniteShares 2x Long PLTR Daily ETF (PTIR) was up 41% in the afternoon on Tuesday, living up to its billing as a way to amplify the daily returns of Palantir's stock.
The fund has already notched nearly 1.5 million shares of volume for the day, putting it within striking distance of its all-time high, according to FactSet.
Direxion's Daily PLTR Bull 2x Shares (PLTU), which is smaller than PTIR, was also up more than 40% and has already broken is record for daily shares traded.
The two Palantir leveraged-long funds are less than a year old, and entered the day with less than $400 million in combined assets, according to FactSet. Leveraged funds tracking names such as Tesla, Nvidia and MicroStrategy have seen periods of high trader interest over the past few years.
— Jesse Pound
Stocks making the biggest midday moves: Ferrari, Spotify and more

These are the stocks moving the most in midday trading:
- Ferrari — The luxury automaker jumped 7.5% after reporting that net profit rose 21% in 2024.
- Spotify — Shares popped 9% after the music streaming service recorded its first full year of profitability.
- PayPal — Shares tumbled 11% after the digital payments company reported a growth slowdown in card processing.
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Private prison stocks fall after El Savador offers to jail U.S. convicted criminal deportees
Private prison stocks GEO Group and CoreCivic pulled back 8% and 4%, respectively, on Tuesday, after El Salvador President Nayib Bukele offered to house convicted criminals deported by the U.S.
Stock in Geo Group and CoreCivic soared after President Trump's election in November, due in large part to his appointment of Tom Homan as his "border czar."
— Brian Evans, Adrian van Hauwermeiren
Trump adds two economists to his Council of Economic Advisers
Two academic economists are joining the Council of Economic Advisors, the White House announced Tuesday.
The new members are Pierre Yared, a professor of international business at Columbia Business School, and Kim Ruhl, a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Yared's work includes research on central banks and fiscal policy, while Ruhl has done extensive research on international trade.
Ruhl and Yared would work with Trump's nominee for CEA chair, Stephen Miran, who comes from the Manhattan Institute.
— Jesse Pound
Broad-based tariffs still 'unlikely' until late 2025, Wolfe Research says

President Trump's recent tariffs deals could mean that broad-based tariffs have little chance of being imposed until the end of 2025, according to Wolfe Research.
"The market reaction is benign probably because we avoided the worst-case scenario for now — a trade war with Canada and Mexico as well," chief economist Stephanie Roth wrote in a Tuesday note. "Although at times it seemed convincing that tariffs might be temporarily applied to those countries, we continue to believe broad-based tariffs are unlikely until year-end, when tariff revenue is needed to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)."
While Roth said there might still be noise over the next month about whether Trump will actually impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico as the delayed deadlines near, she added that she doesn't expect that Canada and Mexico will "bear the brunt" of any potential trade war and noted that Canada "has low numbers of border encounters and fentanyl seizures to begin with."
For China, the chief economist said Trump's tariffs on that country are part of his "longer-term plan to ratchet up tariffs on them" and could be upheld.
— Sean Conlon
China stock ETFs rally
The iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) and the iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) each advanced more than 2% in midday trading, as traders assess trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
The Chinese government hit the U.S. with additional tariffs of 15% on imports of coal and liquefied natural gas, starting Feb. 10, as well as a 10% higher levy on crude oil, farm equipment and select cars.
The move came soon after the U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods took effect.
— Sarah Min
Stocks open little changed
Stocks were relatively unchanged on Tuesday.
The S&P 500 traded just around the flatline, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 55 points, or 0.1%.
— Sean Conlon
China tariffs could force Apple to raise iPhone prices, says Morgan Stanley

Apple may be forced to raise iPhone prices if a trade war with China drags on, but that will be "the path of last resort," Morgan Stanley said in a note Tuesday.
The tech giant hasn't taken any known actions to mitigate the 10% tariff on goods from China, which went into effect Tuesday, analyst Erik Woodring pointed out. Based on estimates from the firm's supply chain colleagues, the tariff could equate to 3.5% headwinds on earnings per share.
The tech giant could use its smaller production base in India to skirt levy, he noted. However, India's plant, which accounts for 13% of iPhone production, doesn't have the ability to support the 67 million iPhone Apple chips to the U.S. in the event that the tariffs have longevity, he said.
It is also highly likely that President Trump gives Apple some form of product exemption, which he did during his first administration, Woodring said.
"If both proved unsuccessful, we estimate Apple could raise Product prices by just ~3% to offset the 10% tariff, which amortized over 24 months amounts to an extra $1 per month," he said.
— Michelle Fox
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
- Pfizer — The pharmaceutical stock added 1.8% on better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Pfizer reported adjusted earnings of 63 cents per share on $17.76 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG estimated earnings of 47 cents per share on revenue of $17.36 billion.
- PepsiCo — Shares of the food and beverage company fell 2% after Pepsi's fourth-quarter revenue missed expectations. Revenue came in at $27.78 billion, while analysts had forecast $27.89 billion, per LSEG. Demand for its snacks and drinks fell for the fifth straight quarter in North America.
- Merck — Shares were down 8% in the premarket after the pharmaceutical giant issued full-year guidance that fell short of analysts' expectations. The company sees 2025 earnings per share coming in a range between $8.88 and $9.03. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a forecast of about $9.13 per share. Merck's revenue expectations of $64.1 billion to $65.6 billion was also below what analysts anticipated.
The full list can be found here.
— Hakyung Kim
February is a weak seasonal month for stocks, Bank of America says
Stephen Suttmeier, technical research strategist at Bank of America, cautioned that February could be a rocky month for stocks if historical patterns hold.
"The S&P 500 (SPX) can struggle in February, which is the second weakest month of the year after September. Data back to 1928 show the SPX up 53% of the time in February on an average return of -0.09%. February in Presidential Cycle Year 1 shows weaker returns with the SPX up 46% of the time on an average return of -1.66%," Suttmeier wrote in a note to clients.
However, seasonality does tend to improve as Wall Street gets into spring and summer, Suttmeier said.
— Jesse Pound
General Motors and Ford Motor shares rise

Shares of General Motors and Ford Motor rose in the premarket Tuesday, up more than 1% each after President Donald Trump paused tariffs on Canada imports for 30 days following a similar move for Mexico.
The two automakers were among the names biggest hit Monday — following news over the weekend that Trump is hitting both Mexico and Canada with 25% tariffs — as they each have significant manufacturing operations in North America, especially in Mexico.
On Monday, General Motors closed down 3.2%. Ford Motor fell 1.9%.
— Sarah Min
Palantir crosses $100 threshold in premarket trading
Shares of Palantir jumped nearly 22% in the premarket Tuesday, crossing the $100 mark. The stock was last at $102.07.
The move comes on the heels of the company reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter. Palantir posted adjusted earnings of 14 cents per share on revenue of $828 million, above the consensus estimate of 11 cents per share and $776 million in revenue, according to LSEG.
— Sean Conlon
Ferrari pops on 21% year-on-year earnings jump

U.S.-listed shares of Ferrari were up 3% after the luxury automaker reported strong earnings growth for 2024.
The company earned 1.53 billion euros for the full year, marking a 21% year-on-year increase from 2023. Shipments for 2024 totaled 3,325, an uptick from 3,245 in the prior year.
— Fred Imbert
Merck shares slide on disappointing guidance
Merck shares were down 7% in the premarket after the pharmaceutical giant issued full-year guidance that fell short of analysts' expectations.
The company sees 2025 earnings per share coming in a range between $8.88 and $9.03. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a forecast around $9.13 per share. Merck's revenue expectations of $64.1 billion to $65.6 billion was also below what analysts anticipated.
— Fred Imbert
Asia-Pacific markets jump as Trump tariff pause boosts investor sentiment

Asia-Pacific markets rose Tuesday after Donald Trump paused tariffs on Mexico for a month, while Canada also said the U.S. president had put on hold proposed tariffs on its exports.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 2.83% in its last hour of trade as China slapped tariffs on U.S. imports, in retaliation for the U.S. duties on its exports. Chinese markets remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 ended 0.72% higher at 38,798.37, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.65% to 2,738.02.
South Korea's Kospi rose 1.13% to end the day at 2,481.69, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 2.29% to close at 719.92.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed flat at 8,374, erasing earlier gains.
India's benchmark Nifty 50 was up 1.19%, while the BSE Sensex index rose 1.12% as of 1 p.m. local time.
— Amala Balakrishner
Canada ETF jumps in after-hours trading

The iShares MSCI Canada ETF (EWC) jumped more than 2% in extended trading on Monday evening.
At one point, the exchange-traded fund was up nearly 2.9%. It has not gained more than 3% since Nov. 2, 2023.
The move on Monday came after President Donald Trump agreed to halt the implementation of 25% tariffs on Canada for at least 30 days. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted about the news on the levy on social media platform X.
This reprieve comes just hours after Trump and Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said there would be a one-month pause on a 25% levy on imports from Mexico. That news resulted in the stock market sharply curtailing its losses from earlier in the session.
— Darla Mercado
Palantir, Kyndryl and NXP among companies moving in evening trading
Check out the companies making headlines after market close:
- Palantir Technologies — Shares of the defense tech company surged 21% after Palantir exceeded estimates on the top and bottom lines for the fourth quarter, and gave better-than-expected guidance for the full year. The company reported adjusted earnings of 14 cents per share, while analysts polled by LSEG forecast 11 cents per share. Revenue came out at $828 million for the period, while analysts called for $776 million. Palantir's chief executive Alex Karp said much of the company's growth is due to its use of artificial intelligence.
- Kyndryl Holdings — The IT infrastructure company slipped nearly 2% after fiscal third-quarter revenues came in shy of Wall Street's expectations. Kyndryl reported $3.74 billion in revenue for the period, while analysts polled by LSEG sought $3.81 billion.
For the full list, read here.
— Pia Singh
Stock futures open in the green
Stock futures tied to the major U.S. indexes jumped Monday night following the pause of U.S. tariffs against Canada.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 238 points, or 0.5%, higher. S&P futures added 0.7%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.8%.
— Pia Singh