SPX: S&P 500 Logs First All-Time Closing High of 2025 as Traders Shrug Off Tariff Drama

Broad index scored its first record high of the year and then Trump said he was looking to slap 25% tariffs on auto, drugs and chips.

💎 S&P 500 First Record of 2025

• The S&P 500 index (SPX) took a break on Monday only to come back stronger than ever. On Tuesday, the broad-based Wall Street darling waltzed in there to break out to a fresh all-time high — its first of 2025 — as market hopefuls shrugged off tariff dramas and scooped up some risk assets.
• The S&P 500 added 0.2% to its valuation, crossing $51 trillion in total market cap, and closing the session at 6,129.58 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite were more modest with less than 0.1% daily gain for each.

🚘 Trump Goes for Auto

• The leg up came in the final moments of cash trading where emboldened investors ramped up their bets on utilities, financials and energy companies. Just three of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors clocked out under the flatline with the energy corner pumping the most — more than 1.4% — as Trump kicked off the US-Russian negotiations.
• Speaking of Trump, the US President said late on Tuesday he’s looking to slap 25% tariffs on imports of cars, drugs and chips. The auto industry will be first to feel the heat with the new tax charges kicking into gear April 2.

🚨 Fed Minutes Dropping Today

• Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve will release its meeting minutes today. Central bankers met up three weeks ago when Fed boss Jay Powell said interest rates won’t be going down and officials will stay in a “wait-and-see” mode to get a sense of how Trump’s policies will unfurl.
• The minutes will provide a glimpse into the central bank’s mood on future interest rate cuts, inflation expectations and perhaps the implication of tariffs on economic growth.