Small Caps Surge, Apple Dips, and Treasury Yields Decrease on Trump's Second Day: Market Drivers on Tuesday

On Wall Street, there was a clear enthusiasm for small and mid-cap stocks, with the Russell 2000 index outperforming others as investors anticipated more favorable domestic policies from new President Donald Trump, who was inaugurated on January 20.

The Russell 2000 gained a notable 1.7%, while larger indices showed more modest increases. The Dow Jones, which includes major non-technology blue-chip companies, rose by 1.2%. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 increased by 0.9%.

Most sectors experienced gains, with the exception of energy. A declaration of a national energy emergency stoked worries about excess supply in fossil fuels, causing oil prices to decrease by over 2%. As a result, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped to $72.10 per barrel.

In the Treasury market, yields fell as investors seemed encouraged by Trump’s commitments to controlling inflation and reducing federal spending. The yield on the ten-year Treasury note fell by five basis points to 4.58%.

Among notable stock movements, Apple Inc. (AAPL) saw a sharp decline of 4.3%, its worst day since early August 2024. This drop followed a downgrade from Jefferies, which pointed to difficulties with iPhone sales in China.

In the commodities market, gold rose 1.2%, reaching a two-month high and extending its upward trend to nine gains out of the last eleven sessions, primarily due to the drop in Treasury yields. In the cryptocurrency sector, Bitcoin (BTC/USD) bounced back 3% to $106,000 after it briefly dipped to $100,000 overnight, largely because Trump did not make any remarks related to crypto on his first day in office.

Performance of Major U.S. Indices on Tuesday

Major Indices	Price	%
Russell 2000	2,314.89	1.7%
Dow Jones	43,995.44	1.2%
S&P 500	6,053.00	0.9%
Nasdaq 100	21,630.38	0.9%

Updated at 1:20 p.m. ET

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) rose 0.9% to $602.64.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) gained 1.1% to $439.55.
• The tech-centric Invesco QQQ Trust Series (QQQ) increased 0.8% to $525.61.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) climbed 1.8% to $229.50.
• The Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) performed well with a 2% increase, whereas the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) lagged, decreasing by 0.3%.

Tuesday’s Significant Stock Movements

• Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) surged by 4.7%, marking its best session in over two months after posting quarterly results that exceeded expectations.
• In earnings reactions, Prologis Inc. (PLD) rose 6.4%; 3M Company (MMM) was up 5.5%; DR Horton Inc. (DHI) fell 0.4%; KeyCorp (KEY) declined almost 5%, while Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) gained 0.4%.
• General Motors Co. (GM) saw a nearly 6% increase after a rating change from Deutsche Bank went from Hold to Buy, along with an increased price target from $56 to $60.
• Upcoming earnings reports anticipated after market close include those from Netflix Inc. (NFLX), Interactive Brokers Group Inc. (IBKR), Capital One Financial Corp. (COF), and United Airlines Holdings Inc. (UAL).

Read More:

• Trump Threatens 25% Tariffs on Mexican Peso, Canadian Dollar, Impacting Market Dynamics

Photo: Shutterstock

Stocks, Markets, Equities