Traders works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during morning trading on August 4, 2025, in New York City.
Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images
The Nasdaq Composite ticked higher Tuesday thanks to gains in Palantir, while the rest of the market was bogged down by new tariff comments from President Donald Trump and weak earnings from some major industrial names.
The tech-focused benchmark traded about 0.1% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 traded along the flatline.
Palantir shares jumped 8% as the defense technology company said revenue surpassed $1 billion for the first time. On the other hand, Caterpillar posted weaker-than-expected earnings, keeping shares little changed. Eaton shares, meanwhile, dipped 6%.
Also keeping gains in check, Trump told CNBC that tariffs on chips and pharmaceuticals were coming soon.
“We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips, which is a separate category, because we want them made in the United States,” Trump said, adding that he’ll announce the new plan “within the next week or so.”
The moves come after a winning day on Wall Street that allowed stocks to recover losses from the prior session. The market tanked on Friday as the latest policy rollout on tariffs and a weak jobs report left investors questioning the health of the economy. All three of the major indexes ended the week in the red.
“You have to respect the momentum that the market has had. We’re still in a very powerful uptrend,” said Cameron Dawson, chief investment officer at NewEdge Wealth, on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” But, “it wouldn’t be surprising to see some chop as we move through August.”
Investors on Tuesday will watch for more earnings reports, with names like Snap, Advanced Micro Devices and Rivian scheduled for after the close. Out of the roughly 370 companies in the S&P 500 that have already reported this reporting season, more than 81% have beaten expectations, according to FactSet.