NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Dow edged up on Thursday, brushing off President Donald Trump’s latest tariff salvo, while airline stocks soared on the wings of Delta’s upbeat forecast.
Delta Air Lines jumped 12.5% after forecasting third-quarter and full-year profits above Wall Street estimates.
Peers United Airlines rose 13.4%, while American Airlines gained 12.5%.
The Dow Transportation index, widely considered an economic barometer, jumped 3%.
“The positive news from Delta Air Lines is a good sign, showing a little bit more strength in the consumer than you’d otherwise expect,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management.
At 11:48 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 edged up 0.25% and the Dow climbed 0.54% - just 0.7% shy of its December 4 record high.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq was flat, pressured by a near 1% drop in Meta and a retreat in Nvidia, which cooled off after its historic leap to a $4 trillion valuation just a day earlier.
“Markets are in a wait-and-see mode. They are looking to see what earnings will be like when (the season) kicks off next week,” Zaccarelli added.
Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were trading in the green, with technology and communication services being the only drags.
Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, however, jumped 2.6% amid conversations around its next annual shareholder meeting in November.
Trump announced on Wednesday a new 50% tariff on copper to start on August 1 and threatened a 50% tariff on exports to the US from Brazil. He also issued tariff notices to seven minor trading partners.
Yet, several countries are still waiting for official word from the White House, with investors closely monitoring the evolving trade negotiations.
The minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting revealed that most officials anticipate rate cuts will be warranted later this year, viewing the inflationary impact of Trump’s import tariffs as likely “temporary or modest.”
While a July rate cut is off the table, the odds of a September move have climbed to 64%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
It may take until late this year - or even into 2026 - before the true impact of rising import tariffs on inflation comes into focus, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said, highlighting why Fed officials are treading carefully on rate cuts.
Last week’s robust labor market report sent Wall Street’s major indexes to fresh record highs, signaling a rebound from April’s sharp sell-off following “Liberation Day” tariff announcements.
Initial jobless claims for the week of July 5 came in at 227,000, below consensus of 235,000, as per a Reuters poll. Among other stocks, WK Kellogg leapt 30.6% and was on track for its biggest single-day move following reports that Italian candy maker Ferrero was nearing a deal to buy the cereal maker.
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