Stocks continue to rebound, but Tesla shares head in reverse

Stocks on Monday continued to claw back some losses from last week, buoyed by data on retail sales around the U.S. that shows the economy is still trudging forward.

“In our view, this morning’s February retail sales report offers evidence of a limited, modest economic slowdown, rather than signaling a gathering recession,” said Jennifer Timmerman, investment strategy analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

In afternoon trading, the S&P 500 was up 43 points, or 0.8%, to 5,682. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 427 points, or 1.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%. 

The gains extend a healthy rebound on Friday, temporarily taking the edge off Wall Street’s concerns that the economy is stalling. Yet investors remain jumpy over the potential impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canada, China, Mexico, European Union and other U.S. trading partners. 

PepsiCo shares added 2% after announcing a deal to buy Poppi, a prebiotic soda brand, for a nearly $2 billion. Intel shares rose 8% after the chipmaker named former boardmember and semiconductor industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as its CEO last week.

Moving in the opposite direction: Tesla. Shares of the electric vehicle maker, which is helmed by Elon Musk, slid nearly 5%. The company last week warned in a letter to the Office of the United States Trade Representative that the White House’s trade policies could hurt EV manufacturers. 

“As a U.S. manufacturer and exporter, Tesla encourages USTR to consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices,” Tesla wrote.

The letter came on the same day President Trump said on social media that he would buy a Tesla to support Musk and his company’s slumping stock. 

Tesla’s stock price has sunk roughly 41% this year, although it remains up 46% over the last 12 months after surging in the weeks following Mr. Trump’s electoral victory in November. 

Awaiting the Fed

Financial markets this week will be attuned to the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision on Wednesday. Economists overwhelmingly expect the central bank to leave its benchmark rate unchanged, according to CME FedWatch. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will likely be asked if policymakers see signs that the Trump administration’s tariffs could boost inflation, which remains well above the central bank’s 2% annual target. 

Still, Wall Street analysts expect more volatility in the weeks ahead amid ongoing uncertainty caused by global trade spats. The Trump administration has threatened on April 2 to impose matching tariffs on countries that tax the U.S.

“While financial markets appear to be stabilizing, investors are wrestling with the decision of whether to buy the dips or sell the rallies in an environment of exceptionally high policy uncertainty,” Jason Draho, head of asset allocation Americas, UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a report Monday. “A game-theoretic assessment of potential tariff outcomes suggests that Trump’s optimal strategy is to announce reciprocal tariffs on 2 April, and then begin to negotiate them lower.”

contributed to this report.