On April 22, 2025, the U.S. stock market experienced a rebound on Tuesday, primarily benefiting from a series of good quarterly earnings reports and signs of easing trade tensions. All three major indices rose more than 2.5% during the day's trading, as investors largely ignored President Trump's harsh words toward Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, remaining optimistic about the market's prospects. Powell is widely regarded as a stabilizing force in financial markets, so the market was not severely impacted by his verbal clash with Trump.
Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari stated in an interview that the Federal Reserve's independence is key to economic stability and achieving better economic outcomes. He further emphasized that despite Trump's public attacks on Powell, the Federal Reserve would maintain its independence and continue to play a stabilizing role for the U.S. economy.
Currently, the S&P 500 Index still faces uncertainty pressures from trade policy, especially as U.S. tariffs rise amid escalating tariff disputes between the White House and other countries, leading to occasional market volatility. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its 2025 U.S. economic growth forecast to 1.8%, citing the negative impact of U.S. tariffs on economic growth. U.S. tariffs have now reached their highest level in 100 years, increasing market unease.
Nevertheless, the U.S. stock market continues to perform strongly. So far, 82 companies in the S&P 500 Index have released earnings reports, with 73% of them surpassing market expectations, showing strong corporate earnings performance. However, analysts have generally lowered first-quarter earnings growth expectations to 8.1%, down from the previous 12.2%.
On the corporate performance front, some industrial companies have also delivered satisfactory earnings reports. After releasing its first-quarter results, 3M Co. saw its stock rise by 8.1%, despite acknowledging that tariffs may affect its overall profits for 2025. In contrast, Northrop Grumman and aerospace giant RTX were negatively impacted by tariffs, issuing profit reports below expectations with stock prices plunging 12.7% and 9.8%, respectively.
The day's stock market performance was as follows: the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.66%, closing at 39,186.98 points; the S&P 500 Index climbed 2.51%, finishing at 5,287.76 points; and the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 2.71%, closing at 16,300.42 points. The market rebound reflects investors' confidence in the long-term potential of U.S. stocks, especially supported by strong earnings reports and gradually easing trade tensions.
