Stocks were choppy yet again Wednesday as investors weighed President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats and parsed through the minutes from the January Fed meeting. Still, all three indexes closed in positive territory, though gains were limited.
The S&P 500 finished the session up 0.2% at 6,144 – a new record close – the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.07% to 20,056, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.2% higher to 44,627.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump said he plans to levy tariffs "in the neighborhood of 25%" on vehicle imports as soon as April 2, and that he's considering similar taxes on foreign semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. While no timeline was given for the chip and pharmaceutical tariffs, Trump added that these will increase throughout the year.
"The actions reflect a meaningful broadening in potential commerce disruptions and risks sending several export-oriented economies into downturns," says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.
Fed minutes signal uncertainty
Meanwhile, the minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting showed that central bankers are concerned Trump's tariff policies will slow the disinflation trend.
FOMC participants "continued to note elevated uncertainty regarding the scope, timing, and potential economic effects of possible changes to trade, immigration, fiscal, and regulatory policies," the minutes stated, which creates "difficulty" for officials to assess "the importance of such factors for the baseline projection."
"The minutes of the January FOMC meeting didn't break new ground, but underscored the lack of urgency to ease policy further," says Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. They also revealed that central bankers "are increasingly worried that the inflation risks are tilted to the upside, more recently due to the uncertainty around trade and immigration policies."
Housing starts slump to start 2025
Elsewhere on the economic calendar, data from the Census Bureau showed housing starts declined 9.8% month over month in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.37 million. Building permits – a better indicator of future construction – ticked 0.1% higher to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.48 million.
"This decline in housing starts is going to put downward pressure on residential investment during the first quarter of the year and is in line with our view that economic growth during the year will be weaker than in 2024," says Eugenio Alemán, Ph.D., chief economist at Raymond James.
Sherwin-Williams hikes its dividend
In single-stock news, Sherwin-Williams (SHW, -0.3%) raised its quarterly dividend by 10.5% to 79 cents per share. This marks the 47th straight year the paintmaker has hiked its payout, making it one of the best dividend growth stocks around.
And Wall Street is generally upbeat toward the Dow Jones stock (SHW joined the 30-stock index in November). Of the 29 analysts covering Sherwin-Williams tracked by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 11 say it's a Strong Buy, five have it at Buy, 11 call it a Hold and two rate it a Sell or Strong Sell. This works out to a consensus Buy recommendation.
Argus Research analyst Alexandra Yates is one of those with a Buy rating on SHW. Sherwin-Williams is a global leader in the manufacturing, distribution and sale of paints and coatings, and the company "is uniquely positioned" to benefit from higher demand trends over the long term, Yates writes.
Stocks on the move
Etsy (ETSY) stock fell 10.1% after the online marketplace came up short of fourth-quarter revenue expectations.
Toll Brothers (TOL) shares declined 5.9% after the homebuilder missed top- and bottom-line expectations for its first quarter.
Bumble (BMBL) stock plunged 30.3% after the online dating platform beat revenue expectations for its fourth quarter but issued a weak forecast for its first quarter.
