Financial Markets                      04/29 15:27

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks rose again Tuesday as stronger-than-expected 
profits kept piling higher for companies, though CEOs said they're unsure how 
long that can last because of uncertainty around President Donald Trump's trade 
war.

   The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to extend its winning streak to a sixth day. The 
Dow Jones Industrial Average added 300 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq 
composite rose 0.5%.

   Honeywell International helped lead the market with a gain of 5.4% after 
reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts 
expected. Perhaps even more importantly for investors, it also raised its 
forecast for profit over the full year.

   "Though we have not yet seen it in our results, we recognize we face an 
uncertain global demand environment for the remainder of 2025, and our company 
will work tirelessly, leveraging all tools available to us, to deliver for 
customers and shareholders," CEO Vimal Kapur said.

   Sherwin-Williams rose 4.8% for another one of the market's bigger gains 
after the paint and coatings company likewise reported a better-than-expected 
profit.

   CEO Heidi Petz said it expects to see softness from some of its customers 
persist well into the second half of this year, but she also said her company 
gets the majority of its raw materials from the regions where it manufactures. 
That could help blunt the possible impact from tariffs.

   Other stocks weren't as strong, even though their companies reported 
stronger-than-expected profits.

   Much like the broader market, UPS stock swung between losses and gains at 
the day's start of trading after it reported a stronger profit than analysts 
expected for the first three months of 2025. Because it's the world's largest 
package delivery company, UPS can offer a window into how the global economy is 
doing.

   But UPS also said it wasn't updating its financial forecasts previously 
given for 2025 because of "the current macro-economic uncertainty." It also 
said it expects to cut about 20,000 jobs and close 73 buildings this year as 
part of a cost-cutting effort that CEO Carol Tom said "could not be timelier." 
Its stock finished 0.4% lower.

   Investors fear Trump's tariffs could bring a recession if left unaltered 
because they could freeze global trade and send prices higher for all kinds of 
products. And Trump's on-again-off-again rollout could by itself throw into 
disarray the long-term plans for spending and investment by businesses and 
households.

   U.S. households are getting much more pessimistic because of tariffs, and a 
report from the Conference Board on Tuesday said their expectations for income, 
business and job market conditions dropped to the lowest level since 2011 and 
are well below the level that usually signals a recession ahead.

   U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said such economic uncertainty is a 
tool Trump can use as he negotiates tariffs and trade deals. "President Trump 
creates what I would call strategic uncertainty in the negotiations," he told 
reporters at the White House.

   The latest zigzag may be arriving for the U.S. auto industry after White 
House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will sign an executive order 
Tuesday relaxing some of his 25% auto tariffs.

   General Motors nevertheless slipped 0.6% despite reporting a stronger profit 
for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company rescheduled a 
conference call with investors to discuss its results and forecasts for 2025 to 
Thursday because of "recent reports regarding updates to trade policy."

   JetBlue Airways' stock bounced between losses and gains after CEO Joanna 
Geraghty said the airline was puling its financial forecasts for the full year 
given "the macroeconomic uncertainty." The airline also delivered a stronger 
profit than expected for the latest quarter. Its stock accelerated later in the 
day and finished 2.7% higher.

   Coca-Cola also overcame an early drop to rise 0.8%. The beverage giant 
reported better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter and said the impact 
of tariffs on its business are likely to be "manageable." Coke updated some of 
its financial forecasts for the year but left alone its guidance for an 
important underlying measure of revenue growth.

   All told, the S&P 500 rose 32.08 points to 5,560.83. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average gained 300.03 to 40,527.62, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 
95.18 to 17,461.32.

   In the bond market, Treasury yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury 
dropped to 4.17% from 4.23% late Monday.

   Not only did the report on consumer confidence come in weaker than expected, 
so did an update on how many job openings U.S. employers were advertising at 
the end of March. Such weaker-than-expected data could eventually push the 
Federal Reserve to resume cutting interest rates in order to give the economy a 
boost.

   Yields have largely been sinking since an unsettling, unusual spurt higher 
earlier this month rattled both Wall Street and the U.S. government. That rise 
had suggested investors worldwide may have been losing faith in the U.S. bond 
market's reputation as a safe place to park cash.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed amid mostly modest moves across 
Europe and Asia.

   ___

   AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

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