Stocks climbed on Wednesday in yet another volatile session as Wall Street readied for the expected rollout of President Donald Trump's tariffs.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.67% to close at 5,670.97, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.87% and ended at 17,601.05. The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average added 235.36 points, or 0.56%, and settled at 42,225.32. Earlier in the session, the broad market S&P 500 was more than 1% lower.

Shares of Tesla climbed 5.3%, rising on news that President Trump has signaled to his cabinet that Elon Musk will be stepping back from his advisory role in the coming months.

The moves come ahead of the implementation of a raft of Trump's reciprocal tariffs that will "start with all countries." The White House revealed Tuesday that the levies "will be effective immediately" after being unveiled at an event in the Rose Garden slated for 4 p.m. ET Wednesday.

Details are still scarce, fueling concerns about which industries will be most affected and whether the economy could slow down as a result. The administration as of Tuesday had yet to decide on the tariff levels and was still considering several options, according to a report from Bloomberg News, citing people familiar.

"We expect to learn a lot more today from the president, but we also think the market will continue to remain on edge until we know about retaliation and/or escalatory measures [or] rhetoric from the major trading counterparts," said Jon Brager, portfolio manager at Palmer Square Capital Management.

However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers that Wednesday's duties will serve as a "cap," where the tariffs that are announced will be the highest amount set, Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., revealed to CNBC's Emily Wilkins. That will give countries the opportunity to take steps to bring the tariff amount down.

Investors are hoping for a lower tariff level than what has been previously floated by the White House. The Washington Post reported Monday that the White House was considering imposing tariffs of roughly 20% on most imports coming into the country. However, the report said advisors cautioned that several options are still on the table.

"Markets can deal with a lot of bad news — they sell off and then eventually find some silver lining and begin a recovery (or get the Fed to help along with easing)," said Jan Szilagyi, CEO and co-founder of Reflexivity. "However, in the current environment the complexity of possible scenarios would be tough to analyze even if you know definitively that one of them will happen — we don't."

Stocks have come under pressure as uncertainty around President Trump's tariffs has spurred recent market volatility, with the broad market index down five out of the past six weeks. However, some investors think the sell-off is overdone.

Stocks close higher

Stocks closed higher on Wednesday as investors readied for President Trump's tariff announcement slated for 4 p.m. ET.

The S&P 500 added 0.67% to finish the session at 5,670.97, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.87% to close at 17,601.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 235.36 points, or 0.56%, to close at 42,225.32.

— Brian Evans

Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel sees further market downside if Trump sticks by tough tariff stance

One of the most important factors that the market will be watching today is how President Trump positions his willingness to renegotiate tariffs, according to Jeremy Siegel, Wharton School professor.

"If we can tell by his language, or his body language, or how the other officials are going to be talking about potential reductions in response to a mutual lowering of tariffs, I think it will be taken well by the market. If he seems very rigid and at levels over 15%, I don't think it will be taken well by the market," Siegel said on CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Trump's stricter-than-expected tariff stance has pretty much eroded any of the market's gains following Trump's November election. Siegel could see the market continuing to sell off if the president continues to stick by this stance.

"If he goes tough on tariffs … I certainly see further downside," he added.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Altria shares tumble after Supreme Court upholds ban on flavored vaping products

Altria shares fell 3.6% after the Supreme Court handed down a ruling that supports the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's authority to ban flavored vaping products that the agency said are popular with teens.

The unanimous decision overturned a lower court's ruling that concluded the agency was acting arbitrarily when it changed the review requirements in the middle of the approval process.

Philip Morris International shares were down more than 1%, while British American Tobacco shares shed more than 2%.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

Near-term 'freeze in corporate spending and hiring' is here in Q2, Larry Jeddeloh says

"Expectations are causing economic activity to slow despite what policymakers think," wrote veteran strategist Larry Jeddeloh in his latest newsletter on Wednesday, and a second-quarter "freeze in corporate spending and hiring is taking place."

Jeddeloh, founder of the Institutional Strategist newsletter and Minneapolis-based institutional research firm TIS Group, based his conclusion on conversations with "U.S. equity managers who are interviewing managements of public and private companies. I also think the U.S. housing market is in the early stages of a significant correction."

If Trump Administration tariffs to be announced today are 15% or more, the S&P 500 "is probably too high," said Jeddeloh, who once served as chief investment strategist for UBS In Zurich. "If it is 15% as the max tariff level and countries can negotiate down from there, stocks rally."

Wall Street estimates for the S&P 500 to earn $270 in profit in 2025 are also "too high," the strategist wrote. The "PE ratio is 21x, which is also high, especially if inflation does not come down, which I do not think it will do unless there is a housing bust or some other calamity."

— Scott Schnipper

Trump Media shares tumble more than 6%

Shares of Trump Media sold off 6.6% Wednesday after the company disclosed in a securities filing potential significant stock sales from insider shareholders such as President Trump's trust.

The stock is headed toward its fifth negative session out of the last six. Week to date, the stock is down 4.6%.

Trump Media has slumped 53.4% since the president took office in January 2025.

— Hakyung Kim

Consumer discretionary stocks have another strong day

Consumer discretionary stocks were outperforming the broader market on Wednesday, with the sector last up nearly 2%.

Among the segment's biggest gainers included Caesar's Entertainment and Tesla, which advanced roughly 5% each. Stock in apparel company Ralph Lauren gained roughly 3%, alongside DoorDash.

— Brian Evans

Biotechs slump to lowest in 15 months early Wednesday before recovering

A pair of the largest biotechnology exchange-traded funds, iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) and SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI), briefly touched 15-month lows early Wednesday before recovering later in the morning.

At the day's high, the XBI rose as much as 3.5% after falling 1% in early trading. The IBB similarly fell 1% in early trading but later rebounded to an intraday gain of as much as 2% at the afternoon high.

The $6 billion iShare Biotech fund is down 9.1% over the past month, while the $5 billion SPDR Biotech has fallen 11.9%, according to FactSet. Among the largest individual losers over the past 30 days are: Vaxcyte, down 55%; Novavax, off 27%; and Moderna, lower by 9%.

— Scott Schnipper, Gina Francolla

Amazon rises following report of potential TikTok deal

Shares of Amazon rose 2% on Wednesday, gaining steam in midday trading and helping to lift the market indexes.

Some of the gains have come after a New York Times report that said the tech giant made a bid for TikTok. The social media site faces a potential ban in the U.S. if its Chinese parent company does not divest by April 5.

When asked about the New York Times report by CNBC, Amazon declined to comment. NBC News is also reporting that Amazon has made a bid, citing a person familiar with the discussions.

CNBC's David Faber said on "Halftime Report" that there could be an announcement about TikTok as soon as today and that a non-Amazon suitor is also involved.

— Jesse Pound

Small caps see outsized gains

Small-cap stocks outperformed in afternoon trading on Wednesday as investors awaited President Trump's announcement on tariffs.

The small-cap focused Russell 2000 jumped around 1.4%. The S&P 500, by comparison, added around 0.4%.

That marks a turn for the Russell 2000, which has trailed the broader market in 2025. The index has tumbled more than 8% year to date, while the broad S&P 500 has slid under 4% during the same period.

— Alex Harring

Dollar index slips Wednesday

The dollar index was 0.5% lower Wednesday ahead of President Trump's scheduled announcement for reciprocal tariffs.

The index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, has weakened 3.6% over the past two days.

— Hakyung Kim

Tesla, Rivian among the names making moves midday

Check out the stocks making big midday moves:

• Tesla — Shares jumped more than 5%. Politico, citing three Trump insiders, reported President Donald Trump told members of his inner circle that Tesla CEO Elon Musk could leave his current role in the coming weeks.
• Rivian Automotive — Shares of the electric vehicle maker slid more than 5%. Rivian said it delivered 8,640 vehicles for the first quarter, marking a 36% drop in deliveries compared to a year ago. However, that figure exceeded the consensus estimate of 8,200, per Visible Alpha.
• nCino — The cloud banking firm's stock pulled back more than 20% after nCino reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and soft guidance for the first quarter and full year. For the fourth quarter, nCino posted adjusted earnings of 12 cents per share, below the 19 cents per share that analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. The stock tumbled more than 30% in the premarket, which KBW said was "overdone."

Read here for the full list.

— Sean Conlon

Bitcoin rises ahead of tariff announcement, briefly touching $87,000

Cryptocurrencies and related stocks rallied with the broader market ahead of Trump's widely anticipated tariff announcement.

The price of bitcoin was last higher by 2% at nearly $87,000, according to Coin Metrics, after it briefly rose as high as $87,360.19. The crypto exchange Coinbase advanced more than 4% and bitcoin proxy Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, gained 2%.

"Bitcoin's move up looks strong, but this market has a short memory. We've seen these breakouts before, only to watch them get faded fast," said Ben Kurland, CEO at crypto research platform DYOR.

"What makes this one different is the macro backdrop: rate cuts are back on the table, liquidity is creeping in, and ETF inflows are holding steady," he said. "It's not just hope — there's actual capital rotating in. But until we clear the previous highs with volume and follow-through, it's a cautious yes — with one eye open."

— Tanaya Macheel

U.S. tariffs could start to slow global manufacturing, JPMorgan says

Global manufacturing has been on a tear to start the year, but could slow as U.S. tariffs go into effect, according to JPMorgan.

"Global manufacturing ramped up at the start of the year, expanding at a 3.8%ar pace in the three months through January," economist Nora Szentivanyi wrote Tuesday. "However, the US war on trade is likely to slow activity in the coming months. The latest PMI surveys suggest that a front-loading of global trade flows through February may have started to fade as tariffs were implemented last month."

"The fall in the future output index — which reversed its February gain — also signals a souring in manufacturing sentiment which could worsen further after tomorrow's 'Liberation Day' announcements of further tariffs on key US trading partners," she added.

— Sarah Min

12 stocks in the S&P 500 trade at new 52-week highs

During Wednesday's trading session, 12 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs.

Of these tickers, seven names were trading at new all-time highs. Stocks that hit this milestone included:

• Kroger trading at all-time highs back to its initial public offering in January 1977
• CBOE Holdings trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in June 2010‎
• Cardinal Health trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in 1983
• McKesson trading at all-time highs back through our history to 1983
• Rollins Inc. trading all-time highs back to when it began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 1968
• Republic Services trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in 1998
• Atmos Energy trading at all-time-high levels back to the Energas spinoff from Pioneer Corp. in 1983

On the flip side, 10 stocks in the index traded at new 52-week lows, including Agilent, Moderna, Pfizer, Viatris and Hologic.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Tesla shares pop on unconfirmed report Elon Musk could leave DOGE soon

Tesla shares jumped 2.4% in midday trading after Politico, citing three unnamed sources, said President Trump has informed his inner circle, including members of his Cabinet, that Elon Musk will soon be taking a step back from his role in the administration.

The president is pleased with Musk, who has spearheaded the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, but both men have decided Musk should return to his businesses, and take on a supporting role, the report said.

The decision comes as Musk's controversial involvement in the Trump administration has hurt Tesla stock and spurred a string of attacks on Tesla vehicles. Tesla shares are down more than 32% this year and more than 43% off its recent peak.

— Sarah Min

Deutsche Bank downgrades Paramount

Deutsche Bank has moved to the sidelines on Paramount Global, downgrading the movie studio and media company to hold from buy on Wednesday.

The firm also decreased its estimates for 2025-27 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for Paramount, which agreed to merge with Skydance in July.

"With our EBITDA forecast declining today and the stock trading at its highest levels since July when the deal was announced, we see the risk/reward as more balanced now, especially in light of what we see as increasing risk to the advertising outlook due to macroeconomic factors," analyst Bryan Kraft said in a note to clients.

He lowered his price target to $12 from $15, about 2% higher from where the stock closed on Tuesday.

— Michelle Fox

Stocks open lower

Stocks opened lower for a third straight day on Wednesday, with investors anxiously awaiting clarity on President Trump's tariffs.

The S&P 500 slipped 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 333 points, or 0.7%.

— Brian Evans

Tesla stock slides after company misses vehicle deliveries forecast

Shares of electric vehicle company Tesla declined nearly 4% before the opening bell on Wednesday after the firm missed estimates for vehicle deliveries in the first quarter.

Tesla reported vehicle deliveries of 336,000 in the first quarter, while investors were looking for between 360,000 and 370,000, per StreetAccount.

— Brian Evans

Corporate leaders are losing confidence, says Apollo's Slok

Business leaders are quickly losing their optimism about the direction of the U.S. economy and their own companies, according to Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok.

"Surveys of CEOs and CFOs show that corporate confidence has declined in recent months," Slok said in a blog post.

Slok shared a CEO Confidence Index, which showed that opinions about the economic outlook one year from now is at its lowest level in more than a decade.

Similarly, Slok shared a CFO survey that showed that those financial executives have grown more pessimistic about their own company and the national economy.

— Jesse Pound

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

• Tesla — The electric vehicle stock slipped 2.3% ahead of the expected release of its first-quarter delivery data. Shares are down 33.5% year to date.
• nCino — Shares tumbled around 33% after the cloud banking firm posted weak fourth-quarter earnings and guidance for the current quarter and full year. The company earned 12 cents per share, excluding items, in the fourth quarter, missing the consensus forecast of analysts polled by FactSet by 7 cents. However, KBW called the premarket sell-off "overdone."
• Petco — The pet goods retailer jumped 7% after a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed that CEO Joel Anderson purchased nearly 1.6 million shares.

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Tariff plans still not finalized, Bloomberg News reports

The White House's tariff plans are still in limbo with the Wednesday afternoon announcement approaching, Bloomberg News reported.

Trump and his team had not reached a firm decision on the tariff plans as of meetings on Tuesday, the report said. Some of the options being considered include country-by-country "reciprocal" tariffs and a tiered system where countries would be grouped together.

Also on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and his advisors were still "perfecting" the new policy, according to NBC News.

— Jesse Pound

Stifel cuts ServiceNow price target

Stifel sees less room for ServiceNow shares to run amid uncertainty in the mid-market.

Analyst Brad Reback slashed his price target on the enterprise technology stock to $950 from $1,175, now reflecting around 17% upside over Tuesday's close. Reback kept his buy rating.

"Given a heightened degree of uncertainty given near-term risk that DOGE/Tariff could impact consumer purchasing decisions in the coming quarters we are taking a more conservative approach for the remainder of the year," Reback wrote to clients, adding that he was lower on his estimates for 2025 and 2026 tied to current remaining performance obligations and subscription revenue.

"Net/net, despite the potential for near term noise, we continue to believe that ServiceNow is well positioned to maintain ~20% revenue/[free cash flow] growth and margin expansion in coming years," he added.

Reback is in the majority of analysts on Wall Street with a buy-equivalent rating on the stock, according to LSEG. ServiceNow shares have dropped more than 23% in 2025.

— Alex Harring

Investors await tariff announcement

Stocks have ticked higher this week in the runup to President Donald Trump's big tariff announcement expected Wednesday, marking a reprieve after uncertainty around trade policy battered financial markets this year.

The Dow and S&P 500 have both added close to 1% week to date. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, has risen around 0.7% during the period.

Despite those gains, the three major averages are still in the red for 2025. The Nasdaq has tumbled more than 9% year to date, while the S&P 500 has slid more than 4%. The Dow has pulled back more than 1%.

Notably, stock futures were down in Wednesday's premarket as of shortly after 6:15 a.m. ET as traders readied for Trump's policy updates expected later in the day.

— Alex Harring

Watch 5,500 for S&P 500, says JPMorgan's technical strategy head

The S&P 500 has 5,500 as a critical support level, according to Jason Hunter, head of technical strategy at JPMorgan.

Hunter found this level as a place, based off technical indicators, that can provide a bounce for the broad index. That level marks a decline of about 1.5% from where the average finished last week.

"This is a key inflection here that we think, you know, people need to pay very close attention to and respect," Hunter said Tuesday on CNBC's "Closing Bell."

— Alex Harring

Treasury Secretary Bessent reportedly says Wednesday's tariffs will be a 'cap'

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers Tuesday that Wednesday's tariffs will act as a "cap," meaning the tariff amounts announced will be the highest they will reach and that countries could take steps to reduce their respective amounts, Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., revealed to CNBC's Emily Wilkins.

Rep. Hern also said to CNBC that it "will bring certainty to know where the cap is, help the market and help all of us out there who are concerned."

— Sean Conlon

Stablecoin issuer Circle files for IPO

Circle, the company behind the popular USDC stablecoin, has filed for an initial public offering and plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup are serving as lead underwriters, and the company is reportedly aiming for a valuation of up to $5 billion. It will trade under ticker symbol CRCL.

The company's push into public markets reflects a broader moment for the crypto industry, which is enjoying political favor under a more crypto-friendly U.S. administration. The stablecoin sector specifically has been ramping up as the industry becomes more optimistic that the crypto market will get its first piece of U.S. legislation passed and implemented this year, likely focusing on stablecoins. President Trump has said he hopes lawmakers will send stablecoin legislation to his desk before Congress's August recess.

Circle is also poised to hit the public markets during a particularly volatile time for tech stocks, as the Nasdaq just wrapped up its worst quarter since 2022.

For more, read the full story here.

— Tanaya Macheel

Stock futures open little changed

U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday night.

Futures tied to the S&P 500, as well as Nasdaq-100 futures, hovered around the flatline. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were also flat.

— Sean Conlon