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Benchmarks endure topsy-turvy day ahead of Trump tariff

event

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Airlines drop after Jefferies downgrades on outlook

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J&J falls after judge rejects $10 bln baby powder

settlement

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Recent IPO names CoreWeave ( CRWV ), Newsmax ( NMAX ) jump

(Recasts with preliminary close of trading, adds analyst

comment, market details)

By David French

April 1 (Reuters) - Wall Street benchmarks ended in

mixed fashion on Tuesday after a topsy-turvy session, as

investors were caught in limbo ahead of the impending tariff

announcements from the Trump administration.

Financial markets have been volatile in recent weeks as

investors assessed the economic fallout of U.S. President Donald

Trump's extensive tariff plans, which have sparked worries about

a U.S. economic slowdown and higher inflation.

Some of the uncertainty that has gripped markets is expected

to dissipate after Trump unveils his tariff plan on Wednesday

during an event in the Rose Garden, currently scheduled for 4

p.m. EDT.

However, while clarity on the specific tariff measures will

be welcomed by investors, the overall backdrop is set to remain

highly uncertain, making it difficult for markets to agree on

directionality.

"The fact of the matter is sentiment is washed out and

positioning is still fairly light," said Garrett Melson,

portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions.

"I don't think we're going to get the type of clarity that

investors and business leaders want," he added. "And at the end

of the day, we spend a lot of time talking about tariffs, but

the bigger story is we are dealing with an economy that is not

firing on all cylinders."

For now, according to Melson, this means investors are

"sitting on their hands, biding their time."

This attitude was reflected in the three Wall Street

benchmarks on Tuesday, which swung between positive and negative

territory.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

gained 21.07 points, or 0.38%, to end at 5,632.92 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite gained 149.67 points, or

0.87%, to 17,448.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 14.77 points, or 0.04%, to 41,985.72.

Gains on the Nasdaq, and at various points of the day on

the S&P 500, were fueled by rebounds in technology stocks, which

have been among the most punished in the opening weeks of the

year.

Big-tech advances were led by Tesla, which climbed

ahead of its first-quarter vehicle deliveries report on

Wednesday. There were also gains for other Magnificent Seven

stocks including Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Microsoft ( MSFT ) and

Meta Platforms ( META ).

The S&P, however, was also weighed down by falls in

healthcare and airlines.

Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) fell, dragging the broader

healthcare sector to the bottom of the 11 S&P sectors.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge rejected the company's $10 billion

proposal to end tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that its

baby powder and other talc products cause ovarian cancer.

Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines ( DAL ), American Airlines ( AAL )

and Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) all dropped, as Jefferies

analysts downgraded stocks amid concerns that economic

uncertainty could disrupt both business and retail travel

demand.

Among single stocks, there were big gains posted by some of

the newest public companies.

Conservative news outlet Newsmax ( NMAX ) soared for the

second straight day, following a more than 700% surge in its

NYSE debut on Monday.

CoreWeave ( CRWV ), which has had a more rocky start since

debuting as a public company on Friday, climbed to trade back

above the IPO price of the artificial-intelligence startup.