U.S. stocks remain in limbo on Tuesday as investors wait for talks with China

U.S. stocks remained in limbo on Tuesday as investors waited to hear the outcome of trade talks between the United States and China.

The S&P 500 was edging up by 0.1% in early trading as talks between the world’s two largest economies carried into a second day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 25 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:32 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.

Stocks have roared mainly higher since dropping roughly 20% below their record two months ago, when President Donald Trump shocked financial markets with his announcement of stiff, wide-ranging tariffs. Much of the rally was due to hopes that Trump would lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with countries worldwide, and the S&P 500 is back within 2.2% of its all-time high, which was set in February.

It’s getting to be time to see whether such hopes were warranted. The talks with China, which likely cover a range of disagreements between the two countries, were “going well,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said as he arrived Tuesday morning. He expected them to continue all day in London.

Both the United States and China have paused many of their tariff announcements against each other as talks continue.

Even though many tariffs are on hold, they’re still affecting companies and their ability to make profits because of all the uncertainty they’ve created.

Designer Brands, the company behind the DSW shoe stores, became the latest U.S. company to yank its financial forecasts for 2025 because of “uncertainty stemming primarily from global trade policies.”

The company, which also owns the Keds, Jessica Simpson and other shoe brands, reported a larger loss for the start of the year than analysts were expecting, and its revenue also fell short. CEO Doug Howe pointed to ”persistent instability and pressure on consumer discretionary” spending, and the company’s stock tumbled 18.2%.

Uncertainty is moving in both directions, to be sure. A survey released Tuesday showed that optimism among small U.S. businesses improved a bit in May, for example.

“While the economy will continue to stumble along until the major sources of uncertainty are resolved, owners reported more positive expectations on business conditions and sales growth,” according to Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at the National Federation of Independent Business.

On Wall Street, J.M. Smucker fell 6.2% even though its results for the latest quarter topped analysts’ expectations. Its revenue fell short of expectations, as did its forecast for profit in the upcoming year.

Tesla's rise of 1.8% helped offset such losses. The electric vehicle company has been recovering a bit since tumbling last week as Elon Musk’s relationship with Trump imploded.

Shares of chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. that trade in the United States rose 2.2% after TSMC said its revenue jumped nearly 40% from the year earlier in May.

Casey’s General Stores jumped 10.8% after the chain of convenience stores based in Ankeny, Iowa, reported a more substantial profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It credited strength in sales of hot sandwiches and other items.

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

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.44% from 4.49% late Monday.