Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq hold steady as US-Canada trade tensions heat up

LIVE Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq hold steady as US-Canada trade tensions heat up Grace O'Donnell · Editor, Special Projects Updated Tue, August 25, 2026 at 5:31 PM GMT+2 2 min read ^IXIC BTC-USD ^DJI ^GSPC GC=F US stocks gained on Tuesday as investors brushed aside worries about new trade measures against Canada, even as Canada announced new retaliatory tariffs on US goods. Markets also continued to weigh looming Nvidia ( NVDA ) earnings and predictions for Kevin Warsh's first Jackson Hole speech as Fed chair. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) and the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) rose by 0.

1% and 0. 2%, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) advanced by 0.

4%, recovering from Monday's tech declines . Stocks held on to gains as a trade spat between the US and Canada escalated, with Canada’s Finance Department announcing retaliatory tariffs to counter the 50% duties imposed by the Trump administration over the weekend. Notably, as the US and Canada have ratcheted up their rhetoric, they have left oil off the table for now, even as they raise tariffs on steel, dairy, and other products.

The price of bitcoin ( BTC-USD ), meanwhile, briefly surged above $80,000 for the first time in three months after the Treasury's intervention in the bond market revived concerns about dollar debasement, sending investors to alternative assets . Gold ( GC=F ), too, has rallied in recent days but took a breather on Tuesday. The latest economic data releases showed that both new home sales and a measure of consumer confidence fell to their lowest levels since January as cost-of-living pressures weighed on consumers.

The data sets the stage for the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Symposium later this week, where Fed Chairman Warsh will deliver a speech. Intuit ( INTU ) and Zoom Communications ( ZM ) will deliver key reads on the software sector when they report earnings on Tuesday, and DICK's Sporting Goods ( DKS ) stock sank 13% before the bell after the retailer missed second quarter expectations and cut its full-year outlook due to challenging conditions in the athletic marketplace. LIVE 12 updates 27 mins ago Jake Conley OpenAI says its Jalapeño chip outperformed Nvidia tech in benchmark tests OpenAI ( OPAI.

PVT ) chip leader Richard Ho said the AI lab's new Jalapeño chip outperformed those from Nvidia ( NVDA ) in recent testing, only a day before Nvidia is set to report second quarter results. The Jalapeño semiconductor outperformed Nvidia's GB300 chip in benchmarks of how much work it can handle per unit of power and the speed at which it returns responses, Ho said. "Jalapeño delivers both higher throughput and lower latency with one architecture, where existing hardware systems often have to make a tradeoff between the two," OpenAI said in a press release .

"For customers, that can mean faster responses, more responsive agents, and more reliable access as demand grows. " Nvidia shares traded up by roughly 1. 7% as investors look toward the company's results coming after the bell on Wednesday.

The news comes as OpenAI has increasingly turned toward building and running its AI models on its own hardware, underscoring the competition for advantages in the hardware sector of the AI boom. "OpenAI can design models, products, serving software, chips, memory, networking, and systems together, using what we learn from real workloads to improve every layer of the stack," the company said. While the Jalapeño model outperformed Nvidia's GB300 chip, OpenAI's new offering wasn't tested against Nvidia's newest-generation Vera Rubin chips, Bloomberg reported.

The chip is also not designed for AI model training, where Nvidia's technology has traditionally excelled. Today at 3:24 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell Canada announces retaliatory tariffs on roughly $20 billion in US goods Canada said Tuesday it will match new 50% US tariffs “dollar for dollar” with counter tariffs beginning Sept. 8, affecting roughly $20 billion in imports.

The Canadian tariffs will range from 15% to 50% on various targeted products, including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics. The Canadian rates will match the corresponding US tariff rates. “This focused response will protect Canadian workers, farmers, fishers, families, and businesses, defend industries harmed by unjustified U.

S. tariffs, and help Canadian producers compete with U. S.

products in the Canadian market,” the Canadian Finance Department said in a statement. President Donald Trump speaks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, at a working lunch with leaders of G7 and the Middle East in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP,File) · Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Reuters via AP Canada also announced an additional $7.

5 billion in aid to workers and businesses impacted by the trade dispute. The move marks the latest escalation between the two neighboring countries. Earlier on Tuesday, President Trump lashed out at Canada on Truth Social, saying the country “has been ‘Ripping Off’ the U.

S. A. for decades.

” “I deal with many countries, and Canada is easily the most difficult and unreasonable,” Trump said. Today at 3:09 PM UTC Jake Conley Consumer confidence falls to lowest level since January Consumer confidence fell in August to the lowest level seen since January as cost-of-living pressures and a slowed hiring rate weighed on Americans' impression of the economy, just months away from critical midterm elections. The overall consumer confidence index fell to 89.

4 from 90. 8 in the previous month, while economists had been looking for 90. 2.

An index measuring expectations also fell, measuring at 68. 2 against the previous month's reading of 74. 7.

Economists had expected a reading of 74. 2. In the lone bright spot of the report from the Conference Board, readings on the present situation index rose month over month to 121.

1 from 114. 9. The measure also beat economists' expectations of 114.

7. "Consumer confidence moderated slightly in August for a second consecutive month," said Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board. "Looking ahead, consumers were more pessimistic about business conditions and the labor market over the next six months.

Expectations for household incomes moderated but remained optimistic overall. " Today at 3:08 PM UTC Jake Conley New home sales fall to lowest level since January US new home sales fell to the lowest level since January as heightened mortgage rates have proven sticky, turning away prospective buyers. Signings on new single-family homes fell to an annualized rate of 607,000, down from the previous month's 628,000.

Economists had been looking for a rate of 620,000 sales, per Bloomberg. As housing prices and mortgage rates have stayed high, new home sales have declined in three of the last four months, data from the US Census Bureau showed. Today at 2:19 PM UTC Jake Conley Apple shares hold flat after Mac Mini and Mac Studio release news Apple ( AAPL ) shares began the day trading largely flat despite the news that fresh versions of the company's Mac Mini and Mac Studio are coming to market.

Our Daniel Howley reports: On Tuesday, the company debuted new versions of each pint-sized desktop with more performance aimed at AI developers. The Mac Mini gained traction among AI enthusiasts and engineers thanks to its relatively low cost and ability to operate without a display. That made it ideal for running AI agents that handle tasks for developers, who can control them on the go from their smartphones or laptops.

The Mac Studio also drew engineers who didn't necessarily need a display, as well as for its powerful chips. The latest Mac Mini launches with Apple's all-new M6 processor or the M5 Pro chip. The M6 version can be outfitted with up to 32GB of memory, while the M5 Pro gets up to 64GB.

The Mac Studio gets Apple's M5 Max and new M5 Ultra processors. Apple promises big leaps in overall AI performance for both systems, as well as improved capabilities around gaming and video editing. Read more here.

Today at 1:38 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell Stocks gain as oil and bond yields fall Stocks rose on Tuesday, downplaying US tensions with Canada and Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) and the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) rose 0. 4%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) rose by a stronger 0. 7%. Here's a check of the markets in the first few minutes of trading, based on a heat map powered by Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace data .

AlphaSpace heatmap Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) traded at $79,000 per token. Oil prices dropped 3%, with WTI crude sitting above $82 per barrel and Brent ( BZ=F ) hovering near $88 per barrel. The 10-year Treasury yield ( ^TNX ) fell 5 basis points to 4.

64%. The 30-year yield ( ^TYX ) declined to 5. 18%.

Today at 12:24 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell Nvidia stock is on a 7-day losing streak ahead of its big earnings report Investors are dumping Nvidia ( NVDA ) heading into its closely watched earnings report on Wednesday evening, Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi points out. He writes: Nvidia stock has fallen for seven straight trading days, per Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace data . The sell-off marks the stock's longest losing streak since 2022.

The stock has lost about 7% over this stretch, compared with a 1. 2% drop for the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ). Chart showing that Nvidia has fallen for seven straight days, underperforming the S&P 500.

The Nvidia bulls may be looking to avoid one harsh reality, at least from a short-term perspective. Strong earnings reports haven't been too kind to Nvidia's stock of late. Nvidia stock has fallen in response to earnings in six of the past eight quarters, including the last four, per Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace analysis.

Read more. Today at 11:55 AM UTC Grace O'Donnell Dick's Sporting Goods stock tanks 14% after retailer cuts guidance Dick’s Sporting Goods ( DKS ) stock fell 14% in premarket trading after the retailer posted disappointing second quarter results and lowered its full-year outlook. The company said that competitors heavily discounting items, fewer product launches, and those launches underperforming expectations created “challenging conditions” for the retailer.

As a result, Dick’s slashed its full-year outlook for diluted earnings per share to $10. 94 to $11. 94, down from its previous forecast of $13.

27 to $14. 27. The 2026 net sales guidance of $21.

9 billion to $22. 2 billion was also cut from the previous $22. 1 billion to $22.

4 billion. The company maintained its same-store sales guidance for its Dick’s business at 2. 5% to 4.

0% growth, but slightly lowered expectations for Foot Locker's same-store sales growth to negative 2. 0% to 0. 0%.

In the most recent quarter, Dick’s reported comparable sales growth of 2. 1%, down from 2. 5% in the same quarter a year ago, with the Foot Locker business dragging down growth.

Second quarter adjusted earnings per share came in at $3. 53 on revenue of $5. 58 billion.

That missed Wall Street’s expectations of earnings of $3. 76 on revenue of $5. 64 billion, per S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Today at 11:00 AM UTC Jared Blikre Software is crushing chips by a record margin Software stocks are near record highs. Chips are still stuck in a bear market — except Nvidia ( NVDA ) never really joined them. The handoff happened almost to the day.

Chip stocks peaked on June 22. Software bottomed right around then, kicking off a multitrillion-dollar reversal that has sent the two groups in almost perfectly opposite directions. Strip out the megacaps, and the symmetry is wild.

The equal-weight SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF ( XSW ) is up about 24% since then, while the equal-weight SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) is down about 24%. That near-50-percentage-point gap is the widest comparable software-over-chips move in the ETFs' history back to 2011. And this is not an index quirk.

The equal-weighted software ETF has surged while the equal-weighted chip ETF has tumbled, creating a record gap of nearly 50-percentage points. · Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace Read more. Today at 10:00 AM UTC Grace O'Donnell Why the US and Canada have been reluctant to hit the oil switch in their trade spat Yahoo Finance’s Jake Conley reports: A breakdown in trade negotiations between the US and Canada over the weekend led Washington to impose a 50%  tariff on a wide range of Canadian goods, including furniture, dairy, electrical products, and plywood.

But the tariffs specifically exclude one of the most critical products crossing the border between the two countries: crude oil. The US is by far the largest buyer of Canadian crude , accounting for 90% of Canada's crude exports in 2025, or roughly 126 billion Canadian dollars of a total CA$140 billion. The dependence runs in both directions: Canada supplied roughly 63% of all US crude imports last year.

Those figures reflect a North American oil industry that has become deeply integrated over decades, particularly between Alberta's oil fields and US refineries. Read more. A view of the Canadian Natural Resources Limited' (CNRL) Horizon oil sands project, north of the indigenous community of Fort McKay in Alberta, Canada, on May 5, 2026.

(LEMELIN / AFP via Getty Images) · DAPHNE LEMELIN via Getty Images Today at 9:00 AM UTC Grace O'Donnell Good morning. Here's what's happening today. Economic data: ADP weekly employment change, week ended Aug.

8; Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing activity, August (7. 4 previously); FHFA house price index, month-on-month, June (+0. 3% previously); Richmond Fed manufacturing index, August (5 previously); Richmond Fed business conditions, August (-5 previously); New home sales, month-on-month, July (+1.

6% previously); Conference Board consumer confidence, August (90. 8 previously); Conference Board present situation, August (114. 9 previously); Conference Board expectations, August (74.

7 previously) Earnings calendar: Bank of Montreal ( BMO. TO ), Intuit ( INTU ), Zoom Communications ( ZM ), DICK's Sporting Goods ( DKS ) Catch up on some stories you might have missed overnight: Nvidia's valuation looks surprisingly cheap heading into earnings. Could it be an issue for the stock?

Oura is reportedly eyeing a September IPO that could value it at more than $16B Asian stocks under pressure after US tech selloff SEC subpoenas Wall Street banks over Situational Awareness Trump devises new $100,000 H-1B visa fee after defeat in court Today at 8:00 AM UTC Grace O'Donnell Oil steadies as investors weigh impact of latest US sanctions on Iran Reuters reports: Oil prices recovered ground on Tuesday after settling down more than 2% in the previous session, with investors assessing the impact of the latest U. S. ‌sanctions against Iran.

Brent crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0. 3%, to $92. 44 a barrel by 0330 GMT, while U.

S. ‌West Texas Intermediate crude was up 37 cents, or 0. 4%, at $85.

38. Both contracts settled lower on Monday, with U. S.

crude oil falling to a one-week ​low on profit taking after prices rallied over the previous two weeks. "The market seems largely unfazed by Washington's push for tighter economic pressure on Iran, with traders treating the U. S.

effort to nudge partners away from Iranian trade as marginal rather than market moving," said ING commodity strategists in a note on Tuesday. Read more.