Stocks Post Lukewarm Gains Ahead of Trade Talks as Fears Offset Optimism

Published: May 9, 2025 by Omor IE

Key Points

There are considerable fears about the economy.
A cooldown in the trade war has brought some optimism, but it doesn’t seem to be enough.
The stock market hasn’t reacted as positively as one would expect from talks of tariffs on China going down to 80% and negotiations taking place.
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The stock market has been surprisingly lukewarm today despite talks of significant de-escalation with China regarding tariffs. President Donald Trump looks okay with reducing tariffs from 145% to 80%, and the New York Post believes it could go down to as low as 50%. Trade talks have also taken place with the UK, though these trade talks weren’t as comprehensive as many believed beforehand.

Wall Street seems to be taking a “wait and see” approach ahead of trade talks with China. Stocks opened green in the morning, but with several Federal Reserve members pointing out the weaknesses in the economy, those gains have dwindled. Most big-cap stocks are only barely in the positive.

Here’s a market update as of 10:50 AM (ET) today.

The S&P 500 is down 4.64 points, or 0.082%.
The Nasdaq Composite is down 14 points, or 0.078%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 94.28 points, or 0.22%.

Some Big-Name Winners

Several notable companies have still posted some solid gains today.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is up 6.3% and has continued on an uptrend despite dismal earnings and reports of robotaxi roadblocks. The most recent gain is due to the trade deal with the UK and expected trade deals with China, as talks are expected to take place.
Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) is up 3.6% due to tariff-related positivity.
NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) is up 2%.

Notable Gainers Today

Gogo (NASDAQ: GOOG) is up 39.7% after the company reported solid Q1 results. Revenue came in at $230.3 million vs. the $214.44 million consensus. Earnings also exceeded Wall Street’s expectations of $0.05 per share. The company reported $0.09 per share.
Rumble (NASDAQ: RUM) is up 23.5% despite revenue falling short of estimates due to the company reporting a loss of $0.01 per share vs. the expected loss of $0.09 per share. Revenue came in at $23.71 million vs. the $25.09 million expected.
TransMedics Group (NASDAQ: TMDX) is up 22.6% after the company posted solid Q1 earnings. Revenue came in at $143.54 million vs. $123.56 million expected. EPS came in at $0.7 vs. $0.29 expected.
The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) is up 21.4% after the company posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings. EPS came in at $0.33 vs. the $0.25 consensus. Revenue rose 25% to $616 million vs. the $576 million consensus.
Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) is up 20.2% due to the company posting upbeat earnings and upping its buyback to $750 million.

Notable Losers Today

Onto Innovation (NYSE: ONTO) is down 29% despite beating estimates, as Wall Street analysts have been sharply cutting their price targets. The company’s earnings report showed that its Advanced Packaging revenue has been underperforming due to competition.
Globus Medical (NYSE: GMED) is down 24.4% after disappointing Q1 results. EPS of $0.68 fell short of the expected EPS of $0.75. Revenue also came in at $598.1 million vs. $631.09 million expected.
Innodata (NASDAQ: INOD) is down 20.2% despite a good earnings report due to analysts expecting hotter guidance and Wedbush downgrading the price target to $58 from $75.
Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG) is down 17.6% despite beating estimates as same-store sales remain negative and the company cut its guidance.
Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ: AFRM) is down 13% after disappointing guidance in its Q1 earnings report.