S&P 500 seesaws as investors digest latest earnings and tariff volatility eases: Live updates

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday indicated that President Donald Trump could be open to raising the corporate tax rate to help pay for cuts elsewhere.

“I don’t believe the president has made a determination on whether he supports it or not,” Leavitt said when asked about the idea.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted during Trump’s first stint in the presidency, is set to expire at the end of this year. Negotiations over extending or changing those policies are expected to be a prominent focus in Washington, D.C., in the months ahead.

— Jesse Pound

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon urged the White House to engage in negotiations with China before Trump’s trade war escalates further.

“I don’t think there’s any engagement right now … it doesn’t have to wait a year. It could start tomorrow,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times.

His comment came after Trump excluded China in his 90-day pause of sweeping tariffs. China struck back with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods after Trump’s latest executive order boosted tariffs on Beijing to 125%, stacked on top of a combined 20% fentanyl-related tariff imposed in February and March.

“We should be careful. I don’t think anyone should assume they have a divine right to success and therefore don’t worry about it,” Dimon said.

— Yun Li

The market could be in for more pain, according to Wolfe Research.

“We continue to believe that the near-term trend is to the downside,” Chris Senyek, the firm’s chief investment strategist, wrote to clients Tuesday.

Senyek said “peak fear” tied to Trump’s tariff policy rollout is likely now in the rearview mirror. However, he said to expect more uncertainty during the so-called pause on many levies for 90 days, as well as the continued trend of the market being sensitive to any updates on trade policy.

— Alex Harring

Shares of health-care names restricted the S&P 500 on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 sector slid nearly 1% midday. By comparison, the broad index flickered around flat.

Molina Healthcare and Zimmer Biomet led the index lower, with both dropping more than 3%. Moderna was also among the biggest losers, posting a decline of around 3%.

Pfizer and DexCom were among the stocks bucking the downtrend, as both names rose more than 1%.

— Alex Harring

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading:

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise — The cloud services company saw shares jump 5% after news that Elliott Management has taken a $1.5 billion stake in the company. Elliott Management hopes to engage the company in discussions on how to improve shareholder value, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.
• Boeing — The aerospace stock fell slightly on the heels of Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reporting that Beijing ordered Chinese airlines not to take any further Boeing plane deliveries and halt purchases of aircraft equipment from U.S. companies.
• Bank of America — Shares jumped 4% after Bank of America reported first-quarter results that exceeded analysts’ expectations as net interest income and trading revenue outperformed. The bank posted earnings of 90 cents per share on revenue of $27.51 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had called for earnings of 82 cents per share on revenue of $26.99 billion.

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Shares of chemical company Dow were under pressure on Tuesday after receiving a rare double-downgrade from Bank of America.

Analyst Steve Byrne lowered his outlook on Dow to underperform from buy, citing global economic forces that could hurt the stock.

“DOW is now facing a ‘perfect storm’ of softening macro, emerging barriers to trade, and higher US feedstock costs, which have led us to cut our 2025-26 EBITDA estimates by 17%/23%,” Byrne said in a note to clients, referring to an adjusted profit metric.

The stock was down more than 2% in midday trading.

— Jesse Pound

The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, fell again on Tuesday, breaking below the 30 level to about 28.49. The index, which measures implied volatility based on S&P 500 options pricing, was trading above 50 just a week ago.

The index is often referred to as Wall Street’s “fear gauge.” In recent years, it has typically traded below 20 during calm market periods.

“We believe ‘peak fear’ is likely past us as capitulation levels for indicators such as the VIX and Put/Call ratio were reached within the throes of the selloff,” Chris Senyek of Wolfe Research said in a note to clients Tuesday.

— Jesse Pound

Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares jumped nearly 7% after news that Elliott Management has taken a $1.5 billion stake in the company.

Elliott Management hopes to engage the company in discussions on how to improve shareholder value, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC.

— Yun Li

Steve Eisman of “The Big Short” fame said he has reduced risk in his portfolio as he believes Trump’s tariffs could be an overhang for the market for months.

“I’ve taken some risk down in my personal portfolio, and I’m waiting,” Eisman said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. “I think we’re going to have volatility for quite a while. The Trump administration has set up a situation where negotiating with multiple countries or multiple issues are going to take a couple of leads. It could take a few months.”

The former Neuberger Berman senior portfolio manager and “The Eisman Playbook” host said stocks such as Nvidia and Apollo have very strong fundamentals and could be long-term winners.

— Yun Li

Stocks traded within striking distance of flat as Tuesday’s trading day kicked off.

The Dow and Nasdaq Composite ticked higher by 0.1% each shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. The S&P 500 added 0.2%.

— Alex Harring

Prices for U.S. imports edged lower in March, just ahead of the rollout of President Donald Trump’s blanked tariffs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.

Import prices declined 0.1% after rising 0.2% in February, pushed lower by a 2.3% fall in fuel prices. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an unchanged reading.

Export prices were flat on the month after also being up 0.2% the prior month.

— Jeff Cox

The outlook for factory activity in the New York region dimmed to its second-lowest in the 22-year history of a Federal Reserve survey released Tuesday.

Though the New York Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing index actually rose nearly 12 points, it remained negative at -8.1, representing the percentage difference between companies reporting expansion against contraction. The reading was better than the -12.4 level forecast by Dow Jones.

However, the general business condition index for expected activity six months ahead tumbled 20.1 points to -7.4. New orders, shipments and inventories are all expected to decline, while the pace of price increases is expected to pick up.

— Jeff Cox

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

• Boeing — Shares of the aerospace company fell more than 3% after Beijing ordered Chinese airlines not to take more deliveries of Boeing planes and to halt purchases of aircraft equipment from U.S. companies, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday.
• Dow — The chemical stock slid more than 4% after a downgrade to underperform from buy at Bank of America. The investment firm said Dow is facing a “perfect storm” of negative factors, including a weakening economy and higher barriers to trade.
• Citigroup — Shares rose after the bank reported better-than-expected results, driven by gains at its fixed income and equities trading units. Citi earned $1.96 per share on revenue of $21.50 billion. Analysts estimated the bank would earn $1.85 per share on $21.29 billion in revenue.

For the full list, read here.

— Pia Singh

Citigroup shares ticked higher after the bank exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for first-quarter earnings.

The bank earned $1.96 per share on $21.60 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG forecast just $1.85 in earnings per share and revenue of $21.29 billion.

— Alex Harring, Hugh Son