Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market is struggling under some selling pressure today. Like yesterday, downside moves aren't that extreme and stocks are holding up after a big run. The S&P 500 is 0.7% lower and the Nasdaq Composite shows a 0.8% decline.

The downside bias is driven by ongoing consolidation activity, along with renewed worries about the economic impact of tariffs and negative responses to some earnings and corporate news.

Clorox (CLX 135.19, -3.19, -2.3%), DoorDash (DASH 187.85, -17.48, -8.5%), Palantir (PLTR 107.50, -16.22, -13.1%), and Vertex Pharma (VTRX 434.38, -65.81, -13.2%) are losing standouts after reporting quarterly results. 

Meanwhile, Ford (F 10.44, +0.27, +2.7%) and Mattel (MAT 16.80, +0.60, +3.7%) have gone against the downside grain after reporting earnings, yet holding off on providing full-year guidance. 

Two S&P 500 sectors are higher -- utilities (+1.4%) and energy (+0.2%) -- while the remaining nine sectors show declines ranging from 0.1% (consumer staples) to 2.3% (health care).

Reviewing today's economic data:

• The trade deficit widened to a record $140.5 billion in March (Briefing.com consensus -$127.5 billion) from a downwardly revised $123.2 billion (from -$122.7 billion) in February. The widening was the result of March exports being $0.5 billion more than February exports and March imports being $17.8 billion more than February imports.
  • The key takeaway from the report is the surge in imports, which detracted sharply from Q1 GDP, and was highlighted by a $22.5 billion increase in imports of consumer goods that was led by a $20.9 billion increase in pharmaceutical preparations.