A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell on April 16, 2025.
Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images
The S&P 500 slid on Wednesday as investors assessed a stark warning from Nvidia that pressured global tech.
The broad index dropped 1.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 2.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 250 points, or 0.6%.
Shares of Nvidia lost 7% after the chip giant said it will post a $5.5 billion quarterly charge related to exporting its H20 graphics processing units to China and other nations. The company said in a filing that the U.S. government required a license to send chips from the U.S. to China.
Other chipmakers followed Nvidia lower, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) down more than 4%. AMD slid more than 7%, while Micron Technology slid nearly 2%. Adding to the broader chip decline was a disappointing earnings report from ASML, with U.S.-listed shares losing more than 5%.
Big tech also felt pressure, dragging CNBC’s Magnificent Seven Index more than 2% into the red. Meta Platforms Microsoft each slid more than 2%, while Tesla declined by more than 3%.
“The S&P 500 is just much more of a technology-driven index than it has been in the past,” said Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments. “It has a disproportionate impact, both to the upside and downside, as we’ve seen. We saw it last week, and now we’re seeing it reverse a little bit today.”
Wednesday’s action comes as investors try to navigate rising global trade tensions.
The U.S. has announced tariffs on many countries, including China. Some of those levies were put on hold for 90 days last week, though duties on Chinese imports were not included in that halt. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump announced an exemption on tariffs against smartphone and PC imports, though he later hinted that this was only temporary.
Since Trump administration first announced its “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have each slipped around 6%. The Dow has lost about 5%.
Stocks making the biggest midday moves: Nvidia, ASML and more
These are the stocks moving the most in midday trading:
- Nvidia — Shares tumbled more than 7% after Nvidia said it will record a $5.5 billion charge tied to exporting H20 graphics processing units to China, along with other destinations.
- ASML — Shares of the Dutch semiconductor equipment firm lost 5% after ASML missed order expectations and warned of greater demand uncertainty from China tariff restrictions.
- Advanced Micro Devices — The semiconductor stock declined 7% after the company said it expects that the latest U.S. export restrictions could result in charges of around $800 million.
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Small caps outperform this week
While small-cap stocks have not been able to avoid Wednesday’s market slide, the group is still bucking the downturn this week.
Though the Russell 2000 slid 0.6% in the session, the index is up about 0.6% on the week. By comparison, the S&P 500 has dropped 0.6% week to date following Wednesday’s drop of more than 1%.
The Russell 2000 and S&P 500 this week
The U.S. stock market will be dark on Friday in observance of the Good Friday holiday.
— Alex Harring
Cleveland Fed’s Hammack sees possible need to cut ‘quickly’ of growth slides
Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack said Wednesday the central bank could be pushed into aggressive action on interest rates should economic growth slow sharply.
“If the economy should falter and inflation decline, then it may be appropriate to ease policy by lowering the federal funds rate from its current level of 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent, perhaps even quickly,” Hammack said in remarks prepared for a speech in Columbus, Ohio.
However, the central bank official said given current conditions, including a high level of uncertainty about trade policy, “there is a strong case to hold monetary policy steady in order to balance the risks coming from further elevated inflation and a slowing labor market. When clarity is hard to come by, waiting for additional data will help inform the path ahead.”
Hammack does not vote this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee but will get a vote in 2026.
— Jeff Cox
Oppenheimer initiates outperform rating on Reddit
Social platform Reddit could be positioned for some big gains ahead, according to Oppenheimer.
The firm initiated coverage on the stock with an outperform rating on Wednesday, with its updated price target calling for more than 29% upside from Tuesday’s closing price.
“We believe Reddit will continue driving advertiser demand as it creates products around its highly targeted 1P data and subreddits,” analyst Jason Helfstein wrote. “Additionally, we see a symbiotic relationship between Reddit and Google, especially with GOOGL struggling to compete in consumer AI.”
Shares have come under significant pressure in recent months, lagging the broader market with a fall of nearly 25% in the past month and almost 45% in the past three. Reddit also sits more than 58% below its 52-week high.
— Sean Conlon
Dow sidesteps some of Wednesday’s drawdown
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on April 10, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
The Dow was able to curb losses on Wednesday, thanks in part to rallied in Travelers and UnitedHealth Group.
The blue-chip index shed 0.4% in midday trading. By comparison, the broad S&P 500 lost more than 1%.
Dow vs. S&P 500, 1-day
Travelers buoyed the Dow, rallying more than 3% after earnings per share came in far ahead of analyst expectations. UnitedHealth was another notable outperformer, with shares rising ahead of the insurer’s earnings report slated for Thursday.
— Alex Harring
WTO says global trade outlook has ‘deteriorated sharply’ due to President Trump’s tariffs
The World Trade Organization (WTO) on Wednesday said that the outlook for global trade has “deteriorated sharply” due to President Donald Trump’s slate of tariffs.
“The outlook for global trade has deteriorated sharply due to a surge in tariffs and trade policy uncertainty,” the WTO said in its most recent “Global Trade Outlook and Statistics” report.
— Brian Evans
It will be a ‘challenge’ for smaller SEC to regulate markets, Gensler says
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler testifies before a House Financial Services Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 27, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Former Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday that it would be a “challenge” to regulate the market with fewer workers at his former agency.
“The market, just inevitably when the agency is 20, 25% smaller, is going to be less policed, less overseen for fraud, manipulation, insider trading and things like that. And I think corporate issuers will get their questions answered a lot slower,” Gensler said.
The Trump administration and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency are working to reduce headcount at many different different government regulators, including the SEC and the Internal Revenue Service. Bloomberg News reported last month that about 500 SEC staffers had agreed to take a buyout offer.
— Jesse Pound
Stocks open lower
Stocks kicked off Wednesday’s trading day in the red.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slid 1.1% and 1.9%, respectively. The Dow slipped 0.4%.
— Alex Harring
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York City, on April 16, 2025.
Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images
Check out some of the companies making headlines in premarket trading:
- Nvidia — Shares slipped more than 6% after the chipmaker said it will take a quarterly $5.5 billion charge tied to exporting H20 graphics processing units to China, as well as other destinations. Nvidia said in a filing that the U.S. government informed the company it would require a license to export the chips to China and several other countries.
- J.B. Hunt Transport Services — The transportation stock pulled back 6% despite beating analyst estimates on the top and bottom line in the first quarter. However, J.B. Hunt’s reported a 1% drop in revenue and operating income year over year.
- United Airlines — The travel stock jumped more than 7% after United’s first-quarter results topped analyst expectations. The company earned an adjusted 91 cents per share beating the 76 cents per share expected by Wall Street, according to LSEG. United also gave two full-year outlooks and called the economy “impossible to predict.”
Read the full list here.
— Brian Evans
United Airlines climbs after first-quarter earnings beat
Shares of United Airlines rose 7% in premarket trading after first-quarter earnings topped expectations.
Shares of United Airlines were poised to open higher on Wednesday.
Adjusted earnings came in at 91 cents per share, above the 76 cents expected by Wall Street, according to LSEG. On a non-adjusted basis, United generated at $387 million profit, a positive swing from the loss of $124 million a year ago.
However, the airline’s guidance showed the cloudy picture facing air travel. United gave two full-year outlooks — maintaining its previous guidance of $11.50 to $13.50 adjusted earnings per share, while also saying that could decline to a range of $7 to $9 per share in the event of a recession.
— Jesse Pound
Retail sales data comes in stronger than expected
Shoppers walk through the King of Prussia Mall, as global markets brace for a hit to trade and growth caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose import tariffs on dozens of countries, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, U.S., April 3, 2025. REUTERS/Rachel Wisniewski
Rachel Wisniewski | Reuters
Retail sales increased 1.4% in March, according to advanced data released Wednesday from the Commerce Department. That’s higher than the 1.4% consensus forecast from economists polled by Dow Jones.
— Alex Harring
Japan will negotiate with U.S., Trump says
US President Donald Trump (R) and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hold a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 7, 2025.
Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said that Japan would negotiate tariffs with the U.S. on Wednesday.
Trump said that he, along with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, would be present for discussions.
Trump posted the following on Truth Social Wednesday morning: “Japan is coming in today to negotiate Tariffs, the cost of military support, and ‘TRADE FAIRNESS.’ I will attend the meeting, along with Treasury & Commerce Secretaries. Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!”
— Alex Harring
Travelers pops as per-share earnings blow past expectations
Shares of Travelers Companies rose more than 2% in Wednesday premarket trading after the insurer recorded much better earnings than Wall Street projected.
Travelers earned $1.91 per share, excluding items, in the first quarter, while analysts polled by LSEG forecasted 78 cents a share. That pulled attention from the company’s $10.52 billion in quarterly revenue, a smaller figure than the Street’s consensus forecast of $10.83 billion.
— Alex Harring
Europe stocks open lower
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 16, 2025.
Staff | Reuters
Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 index slipped 1% in early deals, snapping a short winning run.
The index jumped 2.69% on Monday and 1.63% on Tuesday, beginning to shake off sharp losses from the previous weeks in which U.S. tariff uncertainty sparked market chaos.
Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were both down by around 1% at 8:30 a.m. in London, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.44%.
Stoxx 600 index.
— Jenni Reid
ASML posts lower-than-expected net bookings in first quarter
Dutch semiconductor equipment firm ASML on Wednesday missed on net bookings expectations, suggesting a potential slowdown in demand for its critical chipmaking machines.
ASML reported net bookings of 3.94 billion euros ($4.47 billion) for the first quarter, versus a Reuters reported forecast of 4.89 billion euros.
Global chip stocks have been fragile over the last two weeks amid worries about how U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans will affect the semiconductor supply chain.
Read the full story here.
— Ryan Browne
Stocks making the biggest moves after the bell: United Airlines, J.B. Hunt and more
A United Airlines airplane is towed to a gate at Newark Liberty International Airport in front of the skyline of midtown Manhattan and the Empire State Building in New York City on Feb. 20, 2025, in Newark, New Jersey.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images
Nvidia stock slides 6% after company says it will record $5.5 billion charge
Shares of Nvidia shed 6% Tuesday evening after the company said it will record a $5.5 billion charge tied to exporting H20 graphics processing units to China, among other destinations.
NVDA 1D chart
The company said in a filing that the U.S. government told Nvidia it would require a license to export the chips to several countries, including China. The filing is the strongest indication thus far that Nvidia’s overall growth could be squeezed by increasing export restrictions on its chips.
The H20 chip was specially designed by Nvidia to sell to China in compliance with U.S. export restrictions, and generated the company between an estimated $12 billion and $15 billion last year.
— Lisa Kailai Han, Kif Leswing, Jordan Novet
U.S. stock futures slide
Stock futures slipped Tuesday night.
Dow futures slid around 0.5% shortly after 6 p.m. ET, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures respectively dipped 0.9% and 1.3%.
— Lisa Kailai Han
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