[New York Stock Market Briefing] 'Tariff Issue' Fatigue... Mixed Trends Despite Trump's Indication of Negotiation Progress

In the New York stock market, major indices closed with mixed trends, showing fatigue over tariff issues. Trading was relatively inactive ahead of the 'Good Friday' holiday.

The U.S. administration's claim that trade negotiations are progressing positively, and President Donald Trump's pressure on Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman, to resign did not significantly move the market.

On the 17th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 527.16 points (1.33%) to 39,142.23, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index rose 7.00 points (0.13%) to 5,282.70, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 20.71 points (0.13%) to 16,286.45.

The U.S. administration was struggling to mitigate the impact of the tariff war. Neither the White House nor President Donald Trump announced new details on tariff policy, but claimed progress in negotiations with Japan and Mexico.

President Trump stated on his social media, "Yesterday, I had a very productive call with (Claudia Sheinbaum) the President of Mexico," and "Similarly, I met with the top trade representatives of Japan yesterday."

On the other hand, he reiterated pressure to dismiss Chairman Powell, who drew a line against his desired accommodative monetary policy. Chairman Powell stated in a public speech the previous day that inflation concerns due to tariffs are rising and there will be no immediate change in the monetary policy stance.

Foreign media reported that Trump has been discussing Powell's ouster in private meetings since taking office and is considering Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, as the next chairman.

Despite these reports, there was no significant movement in the market. Investors, weary of tariff uncertainties, were in a resting mood ahead of the 'Good Friday' holiday, with individual stock movements being observed.

UnitedHealth Group, the largest private health insurance company in the U.S., plummeted over 22% due to disappointing first-quarter results and a significant downward revision of annual guidance.

Nvidia continued to fall by about 3% due to the ongoing impact of restrictions on H20 chip exports to China.

Netflix announced after the market closed that its first-quarter revenue and net profit exceeded market expectations, rising over 4% in after-hours trading.

Alphabet's stock fell about 1% after a U.S. federal court ruled that its subsidiary Google illegally monopolized online advertising technology.

Hertz, the U.S. car rental company, soared 44% following a more than 50% surge the previous day, as news broke that U.S. hedge fund Pershing Square Capital increased its stake to 4.1%.

By sector, all sectors except healthcare, technology, and communication services rose. Consumer staples and energy jumped over 2%, while real estate and utilities showed gains of around 1%.

The European Central Bank (ECB) cut its three key interest rates by 25 basis points each, reflecting the slowdown in inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission. However, the term 'restrictive' was removed from the statement regarding the monetary policy stance.

According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch Tool, the probability of the federal funds rate remaining unchanged by the end of June rose to 34.1%. The probability of a 50 basis point cut fell from 9.7% at the close of the previous day to 6.0%.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX) recorded 29.65, down 2.99 points (9.16%) from the previous session.

Han Kyung-woo, Hankyung.com Reporter case@hankyung.com