Wall Street Wobbles as Trump Talks Tariffs

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Find out what happening right now and get all the pieces of the puzzle on important data activity before the major news sources break the story and see what are the trends
 

•  21 Oct 2025
 

•   AAPL  
   
  -0.30%
•   AMZN  
   
  -0.01%
•   BYND  
   
  +26.57%
•   GM  
   
  -0.72%
•   GOOGL  
   
  -0.59%

The market sitting in an uncomfortable spot right now. After a rally that pushed major indices within striking distance of all-time highs, traders are starting to feel that familiar twinge of uncertainty. You know the feeling—when everything looks great on paper, but something just doesn't sit right.

President Trump's latest comments about China are stirring the pot again. He's talking about a "good deal" with President Xi Jinping, but in the same breath mentioning the possibility of delaying their scheduled meeting this month. For anyone who's been through the trade war cycles, this script feels painfully familiar. Markets hate uncertainty more than they hate bad news, and right now we're drowning in the former.

The S&P 500, which just posted its sharpest winning streak since June, spent Tuesday whipsawing as investors tried to parse what any of this actually means. Exposure to equities among hedge funds remains near its highest level in over a year, according to Barclays data. Craig Johnson from Piper Sandler is already warning that a short-term correction might be coming, though he's quick to call it "healthy and necessary" after such a sustained run.

General Motors $GM is having the kind of day most companies dream about, surging 9% after absolutely crushing earnings expectations. The automaker reported adjusted earnings of $2.80 per share, blowing past the $2.27 consensus estimate. More importantly, GM raised its full-year guidance significantly EBIT now expected between $12 billion and $13 billion, up from the previous $10 billion to $12.5 billion range.

Here's the kicker: $GM absorbed $1.1 billion in tariff costs during the quarter but says its strategic moves will offset about 35% of that impact going forward. Third-quarter sales climbed to 710,000 vehicles, an 8% year-over-year increase driven by strong demand for trucks and SUVs. It's a masterclass in navigating a challenging environment.

Beyond Meat $BYND is making jaws drop for entirely different reasons. The plant-based meat company rocketed another 50% Tuesday morning after a mind-bending 127% surge Monday. This is classic meme stock behavior—retail traders coordinating on social media to drive massive volatility in a beaten-down stock. Despite the recent explosions, $BYND is still down about 61% year-to-date. The fundamentals haven't changed overnight, but when retail sentiment catches fire, fundamentals take a back seat.

Netflix $NFLX edged up 0.3% ahead of its third-quarter earnings report. Analysts expect earnings of $6.96 per share on revenue of $11.5 billion. The stock has already delivered a solid 39% return this year, and investors are laser-focused on subscriber growth and how well the new advertising tier is performing.

Coca-Cola $KO jumped 3.1% after reporting third-quarter results that topped expectations. The beverage giant posted adjusted earnings of 82 cents per share versus the 78-cent estimate, with net revenue of $12.46 billion exceeding the $12.41 billion consensus.

Lockheed Martin $LMT surprised to the upside with third-quarter earnings of $6.95 per share, beating estimates of $6.39, on revenue of $18.61 billion—an 8.8% year-over-year increase. The company also raised its full-year guidance, now expecting sales between $74.25 billion and $74.75 billion. Demand for missile defense systems remains robust amid heightened global security concerns.

Apple $AAPL pulled back 0.2% Tuesday after rocketing nearly 4% Monday to close at an all-time high of $262.24. That surge pushed Apple's market cap to $3.89 trillion, reclaiming the number two spot in the U.S. behind Nvidia $NVDA and ahead of Microsoft $MSFT for the first time since September.

Alphabet $GOOGL slipped 0.4% after hitting a new high Monday. The pullback comes as OpenAI launched ChatGPT Atlas, a new AI-powered browser that integrates ChatGPT directly into the browsing experience, potentially challenging Google's dominance.

Amazon $AMZN climbed 0.3% after recovering from a significant AWS outage that briefly took down numerous websites and social platforms. Investors are choosing to focus on Amazon's business stability rather than the one-off technical glitch.

Tesla $TSLA traded down 0.6% ahead of its quarterly earnings report expected Wednesday evening. Wall Street expects earnings of 55 cents per share on revenue of $27.2 billion. The company already reported record deliveries of 497,099 vehicles in the third quarter, about 54,000 above early forecasts.

Elsewhere, precious metals took a beating with gold falling 5% and silver plunging 7% after weeks of rallies that pushed both to new highs. A stronger dollar, expectations of a U.S.-China trade deal, and seasonal demand decline from India are all weighing on metals prices.

The week ahead remains packed with heavyweight earnings from names like Intel, Texas Instruments, and 3M, plus Friday's Consumer Price Index report that could influence the Federal Reserve's next rate decision. In this environment, staying nimble matters more than being right.

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