US open: Stocks lower as trade tensions weigh on Nasdaq
16th Apr 2025 14:58
(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the red early on Wednesday as trade tensions remained in focus.
As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.71% at 40,080.35, while the S&P 500 lost 1.41% to 5,320.61 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 2.21% weaker at 16,452.05.
The Dow opened 288.61 points lower on Wednesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.
Shares in chipmaker Nvidia headed south in early trading after the AI darling warned that it would take a $5.5bn hit this quarter related to the export of its H20 graphics processing units to China, for which it was specially designed. Nvidia stated the US government had told it that it would require a license if it were to send chips from the US to China. Fellow chipmakers AMD and Micron Technology also traded lower before the open.
United Airlines shares surged at the open after the carrier posted Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.91 each, ahead of analysts' estimates of $0.76 each.
On the macro front, mortgage applications decreased 8.5% in the week ended 11 April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, with applications to refinance a mortgage down 12%, while applications to purchase a home slipped 5% week-on-week.
Elsewhere, spending by Americans spiked last month, in part due to an attempt to front-run the imminent imposition of import tariffs. According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, retail sales volumes increased at a month-on-month pace of 1.4% to reach $734.9bn - compared to a 0.2% increase in February.
Still on data, industrial production increased 1.3% year-on-year in March, following February's revised 1.5% increase, while capacity utilisation declined from 78.2% in February to 77.8% last month, according to the Federal Reserve.
Finally, the National Association of Housebuilders' housing market index edged up by one point in April to 40, beating forecasts for a drop to 37.
Still to come, investors patiently awaited comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell at 1830 BST.