LIVE MARKETS-Psych! Wall St rallies as tariffs, implemented yesterday, are eased on day two

Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com

PSYCH! WALL ST RALLIES AS TARIFFS, IMPLEMENTED YESTERDAY, ARE EASED ON DAY TWO

U.S. stocks began Wednesday with little to motivate much of a bounce after two straight days of bruising losses.

The day started with a sizable downside surprise from ADP, a potential harbinger of a weak payrolls report on Friday.

But within the first hour of trading, a stronger-than-expected services PMI and factory orders data gave a bit of a boost to the indexes, which then shifted into overdrive on news that U.S. President Donald Trump would exempt some automakers from his punishing 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, and indicated that he's open to considering additional exemptions.

General Motors GM.N jumped 7.2%, while Ford F.N advanced 5.8% on the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 1.14%, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.12%, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rallied 1.46%.

Even so, year-to-date, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq remain down 0.7% and 4.0%, respectively, while the blue-chip Dow has eked out a 1.1% gain over the same time period.

As of Wednesday's close, the bellwether S&P 500 is 4.9% below its record closing high reached on February 19, while the tech-laden Nasdaq is 8.0% below its all-time closing zenith reached on December 16.

Materials .SPLRCM, consumer discretionary .SPLRCD industrials .SPLRCI, airlines .SPCOMAIR housing .HGX and chips .SOX were among the days outperformers, with energy .SPNY and utilities .SPLRCU ending the session in the red.

The U.S. Federal Reserve released its Beige Book, an amalgamation of economic conditions across the Fed's 12 regional banks.

The book hinted at a slight, but uneven, economic improvement since mid-January, along with growing anxieties pertaining to Trump's policies and whether they could affect future growth.

Here's your closing snapshot:

(Stephen Culp)

*****

FOR WEDNESDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:

BOFA CLIENTS CHECK INTO HEALTHCARE STOCKS - CLICK HERE

DATATREK STILL OPTIMISTIC ON LARGE CAP STOCKS - CLICK HERE

HUMP DAY DATA ROUNDUP: ADP, PMI, FACTORY ORDERS, MORTGAGES - CLICK HERE

U.S. STOCKS TRY TO EXTEND THEIR REBOUND - CLICK HERE

S&P 500 INDEX: TRADERS BOW TO THE MAGIC OF THE 200-DAY MA - CLICK HERE

POSITIONING FOR MORE VOLATILITY - CLICK HERE

WHAT WILL THE ECB MAKE OF ALL THIS? - CLICK HERE

EUROPE'S DEFENCE BOOM, SOMETHING FOR US CONTRACTORS TOO - CLICK HERE

PICTET GOES OVERWEIGHT EUROPEAN STOCKS, DOWNGRADES U.S. - CLICK HERE

BIG BOUNCE, MDAX STANDS OUT - CLICK HERE

EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: "A REALLY BIG BAZOOKA" - CLICK HERE

TARIFFS STAND OUT AMID MENAGERIE OF MARKET DRIVERS - CLICK HERE