U.S. Stocks Made Modest Gains as Traders Turn From Tariffs to Earnings
02:38 Share

Hello, I'm Laura Castleton with Janice Henderson Investors. We work to help our clients achieve superior financial outcomes and fulfill our purpose of investing in a brighter future together. To learn more, go to JaniceHenderson.com. Here's your closing bell brief for Wednesday, February 5th. I'm Danny Lewis for The Wall Street Journal. Major U.S. indexes made modest gains today as investors turned from tariff news to earnings season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 317 points to close at 44,873. The S&P 500 advanced almost 24 points, and the Nasdaq rose 38 points. The relatively muted trading day suggests investors have calmed their nerves since President Trump threatened wide-ranging tariffs against America's three largest trading partners.

While Trump's threats against Canada and Mexico have receded for now, Wall Street investors considered China's response to his new tariffs to be fairly tame, with new levies imposed on only a small slice of American goods. But some analysts cautioned that investors may be underestimating the risk of a lengthier trade war. In individual companies today, shares in Google parent Alphabet fell 7% after the tech giant said a slowdown in cloud computing sales dragged down revenue growth.

CEO Sundar Pichai said the company is accelerating investments in the data centers that power artificial intelligence. Speaking of data centers, Advanced Micro Devices posted a 69% jump in revenue for that wing of its business, but it undershot analysts' expectations and the company's stock fell more than 6.25%. And shares of toy maker Mattel rocketed up more than 15% after it forecast higher earnings this year, boosted by expected greater demand for Barbie dolls.

It also unveiled a stock buyback. We'll have more coverage of the day's news on the WSJ's What's News podcast. You can add it to your playlist on your smart speaker or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

No problem.

Get 24-7 professional answers and live help and access support by phone, email, and in-platform chat. That's how Schwab is here for you to help you trade brilliantly. Learn more at schwab.com slash trading.