The Dow Jones Index Opens 0.94% Lower

The S&P/TSX Composite Index swung between gains and losses at the 24,950 mark on Tuesday, as robust gains in energy and materials were offset by renewed trade-war jitters and defensive positioning ahead of key policy meetings.

Canadian Natural Resources and Agnico Eagle led the commodity complex—rising more than 1% and 2%, respectively—on firmer oil and metal prices, yet President Trump’s fresh reciprocal-tariff threats reignited caution.

Investors also braced for the Federal Reserve’s forthcoming rate decision and monitored Bank of Canada Governor Mark?Carney’s “difficult but constructive” talks in Washington.

Technology and financials lagged the broader market, with Shopify, TD?Bank, Brookfield Asset Management and Constellation Software each retreating between 0.6% and 1.4%, underscoring the index’s sensitivity to ongoing tariff uncertainty.

Stocks in the US declined on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session, with the S&P 500 falling 0.8%, the Nasdaq sinking 1% and the Dow Jones falling about 260 points.

Investor sentiment remained subdued amid persistent tariff uncertainty and growing concerns over the impact of trade tensions on corporate earnings.

President Trump is scheduled to meet Canadian Prime Minister Carney on Tuesday, while negotiations between the US and several countries continue, though no formal agreements have been reached.

Meanwhile, US imports in March soared again in anticipation of new tariffs in April.

The FOMC meeting begins today, with the Fed widely expected to hold interest rates steady.

Tech and health were the worst performing sectors while energy and utilities booked gains.

Palantir Technologies tumbled nearly 12% after disappointing investors, while Ford gained 1.9% despite warning that tariffs could reduce 2025 earnings by approximately $2.5 billion.

By Jack Pitcher

Market jitters over trade are back. Stock indexes opened lower Tuesday, a day after the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 both snapped nine-day winning streaks, and gold prices are rising again.

Late Monday, Ford and Mattel joined companies suspending annual guidance due to tariff-related uncertainty. While Ford is less exposed than some rivals, it reckons tariffs could cut $1.5 billion from a key measure of profit: "huge numbers," the automaker's chief executive said.

Mattel, meanwhile, said it could raise U.S. toy prices. The maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels is bracing for a $270 million tariff hit and will speed up moves to shift manufacturing from China.

Reporting results early Tuesday, the cereal maker WK Kellogg and the hotel chain Marriott International cut their financial forecasts, pointing to tariffs and macroeconomic uncertainty.

Adding to the caution, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticized Canada ahead of Tuesday's planned meeting between President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

"They have been basically feeding off of us for decades upon decades," Lutnick said Monday, when asked if he was optimistic about a U.S.-Canada trade deal.

In addition, President Trump said Monday that he would announce the size and timing of pharmaceutical tariffs "over the next two weeks."

Meanwhile, new data showed the trade deficit hit a record $140.5 billion in March, as Trump's bid to remake global trade prompted a pre-emptive surge in imports. The figure, which includes both goods and services, topped economists' forecasts.

Also in focus is the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, which starts Tuesday. While the central bank is expected to hold rates steady, comments Wednesday from Fed Chair Jerome Powell will be scoured for clues on how the Fed views the risks of inflation pressure from tariffs or shortages, versus the chance of an economic slowdown.

Elsewhere in markets:

Stock indexes fell. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led losses, weighed by a post-earnings selloff in Palantir.

Benchmark Treasury yields wavered, after settling Monday at 4.34%.

The Taiwanese dollar weakened after hitting a multiyear high Monday. Taiwan's president and central bank have denied the U.S. had asked Taipei to boost its currency.

In global markets, German stocks underperformed after a surprise setback for Friedrich Merz, who failed to secure enough support in parliament to be confirmed as the next chancellor.

Gold futures extended Monday's rise, topping $3,400 a troy ounce.

Oil prices rebounded. They had dropping yesterday after the OPEC cartel and its allies agreed to further raise crude output.

Write to Jack Pitcher at jack.pitcher@wsj.com

This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).

The Ibovespa rose around 0.5% to above the 133,800 level on Tuesday, rebounding from yesterday's losses as investors weighed corporate earnings resilience and the prospect of a less aggressive monetary tightening cycle, despite weaker domestic services data and external volatility.

Petrobras was among the top performers, rising over 2% as crude oil prices rebounded from multi-year lows, followed by Vale, which added around 1%, and WEG, up more than 1%.

In contrast, BB Seguridade led the losses, dropping over 5% after reporting a disappointing first-quarter performance.

On the economic front, Brazil’s services PMI contracted to 48.9 in April, signaling a slowdown in domestic demand.

However, this has strengthened expectations that Copom may limit its next rate hike to 50 bps, in line with forecasts for the Selic to peak at 14.75%.

The milder tightening outlook, coupled with hopes for US tariff de-escalation, particularly if trade deals progress, has helped ease global risk aversion.

The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust was down 0.6% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust retreated 0.9% in Tuesday's premarket activity, ahead of the US Federal Reserve's two-day policy session starting later in the day.

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.5%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures losing 0.8% before the start of regular trading.

March's international trade in goods and services report will be released at 8:30 am ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 0.3% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF was 0.3% lower.

Power Play:

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund declined by 0.5%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares was down 1.4%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares was 1.3% higher.

Lemonade shares were up more than 7% pre-bell Tuesday after the company reported a lower-than-expected Q1 net loss.

Winners and Losers:

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF was up 3%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund was 0.4% higher.

Tidewater stock was up more than 6% before Tuesday's opening bell after the company reported higher-than-expected Q1 income and revenue.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund was up 0.04%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund was flat. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund lost 0.7%. The VanEck Retail ETF and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF were inactive.

Celsius shares were down more than 5% pre-bell after the company posted lower Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund retreated 0.5% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were inactive.

V2X stock was up 4.5% before the opening bell after the company reported higher Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund retreated 0.4%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund was down 0.1% while the iShares US Healthcare ETF and the iShares Biotechnology ETF were inactive.

Philips stock was down more than 3% premarket after the company said its Q1 adjusted earnings were unchanged year over year and posted lower sales.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund retreated 1%, and the iShares US Technology ETF was 0.7% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF was down 1.1%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF was inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF declined by 0.9%.

Datadog shares were up 2% in recent Tuesday premarket activity after the company reported higher Q1 non-GAAP net income and revenue.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.2% to $58.39 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas gained 1.1% to reach $3.59 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund was up 2.3%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund was 0.1% higher.

Gold futures for June were up 2.1% at $3,390.30 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures advanced 2.4%, reaching $33.25 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares gained 1.5%, and the iShares Silver Trust was 2.1% higher.

By Tomi Kilgore

Stock sinks toward a record low as weakness in auto-care business offset strength in batteries, leading to a quarterly sales decline

Shares of Energizer Holdings Inc. were sinking toward a record low in early Tuesday trading, after the batteries and auto-care company cited an increasingly cautious consumer in providing a downbeat outlook.

While the recent tariff announcements added to uncertainties about the economy and a consumer slowdown, Energizer (ENR) said that a combination of sourcing shifts and higher pricing has allowed it to "broadly offset the direct impact of tariffs."

But because of the effect worries about the economy are having on the consumer, the company expects adjusted earnings per share for the current fiscal third quarter to be 55 cents to 65 cents, which is well below the average analyst EPS estimate compiled by FactSet of 85 cents.

For fiscal 2025, the company cut its adjusted EPS guidance to $3.30 to $3.50 from $3.45 to $3.65.

The stock dropped 5.3% in premarket trading, to fall below the Sept. 30, 2022, record closing low of $25.14.

The company's downbeat outlook came after government data out last week showed that the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter.

The company also reported revenue for the fiscal second quarter to March 31 that slipped 0.1% to $662.9 million from $663.3 million a year ago, while the FactSet consensus was for a rise to $669.5 million.

Batteries and lights revenue increased 1.5% to $488 million, above the average estimate of two analysts of $480.6 million. Meanwhile, auto-care revenue fell 4.1% to $174.9 million from $182.3 million, while expectations called for a rise to $189.6 million.

Net earnings for the quarter declined 12.7% to $28.3 million, while adjusted EPS, which excludes nonrecurring items, fell to 67 cents from 72 cents but matched the FactSet consensus.

The stock has tumbled 25.8% in 2025 through Monday, while the S&P 500 index SPX has slipped 3.9%.

-Tomi Kilgore

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