Stocks drift as Wall Street waits to hear what U.S.-China trade talks will bear

Trader Jonathan Mueller works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are drifting just below their all-time high on Tuesday as the wait continues to hear what will come of trade talks underway between the United States and China.

The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher in afternoon trading as talks between the world’s two largest economies carried into a second day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 73 points, or 0.2%, as of 1:54 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher.

Stocks have roared higher since dropping roughly 20% below their record two months ago, when President Donald Trump shocked financial markets with his announcement of stiff, wide-ranging tariffs. Much of the rally was due to hopes that Trump would lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with countries around the world, and the S&P 500 is back within 2% of its all-time high, which was set in February.

It’s getting to be time to see whether such hopes were warranted. The talks with China, which are likely covering a range of disagreements between the two countries, were “going well,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said as he arrived Tuesday morning. He expected them to continue all day in London.

Both the United States and China have put many of their tariffs announced against each other on pause as talks continue.

Even though many tariffs are on hold for the moment, they’re still affecting companies and their ability to make profits because of all the uncertainty they’ve created.

Designer Brands, the company behind the DSW shoe store chain, became the latest U.S. company to yank its financial forecasts for 2025 because of “uncertainty stemming primarily from global trade policies.”

The company, which also owns the Keds, Jessica Simpson and other shoe brands, reported a larger loss for the start of the year than analysts were expecting, and its revenue also fell short of forecasts. CEO Doug Howe pointed to ”persistent instability and pressure on consumer discretionary” spending, and the company’s stock tumbled 21.2%.

The uncertainty is moving in both directions, to be sure. A survey released Tuesday of optimism among small U.S. businesses improved a bit in May.

“While the economy will continue to stumble along until the major sources of uncertainty are resolved, owners reported more positive expectations on business conditions and sales growth,” according to Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at the National Federation of Independent Business.

On Wall Street, J.M. Smucker fell 14.8% even though its results for the latest quarter topped analysts’ expectations. Its revenue fell short of expectations, as did its forecast for profit in the upcoming year.

Tesla helped to offset such losses after rising 4%. The electric vehicle company has been recovering a bit since tumbling last week as Elon Musk’s relationship with Trump imploded. That raised fear about possible retaliation by the U.S. government against Tesla.

Shares that trade in the United States of chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 2.4% after the company known as TSMC said its revenue in May jumped nearly 40% from the year earlier.

Casey’s General Stores leaped 11.6% after the chain of convenience stores based in Ankeny, Iowa, reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It credited strength in sales of hot sandwiches and other items.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed amid mostly modest movements across Europe and Asia. A 0.8% drop for Germany’s DAX and a 06% gain for South Korea’s Kospi were some of the bigger moves.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.47% from 4.49% late Monday.

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AP business writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

By Stan Choe