Wall Street ends 3-day winning streak as tariff worries keep investors on edge; Nasdaq gains on solid Alphabet earnings

The European markets were also trading in the green. As of 1:40 pm, the European Stoxx 600 index 0.5% higher at while the UK’s FTSE 100 was trading 0.3% higher. Germany’s DAX and France's CAC40 were also trading 0.9% and 0.7% higher.

Following a three-day winning streak, US markets were trading in the red on Friday, April 25 as investors digested mixed results from heavyweight tech firms and fresh commentary on trade policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 235 points, or 0.6 percent. The S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3 percent following Alphabet earnings. This comes after the US President Donald J Trump, in an interview with Time magazine, said that he would consider it a "total victory" if the U.S. has high tariffs of 20 percent to 50 percent on foreign countries a year from now.

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Alphabet shares rose 2 percent after the Google parent delivered better-than-expected first-quarter results on both revenue and profit. But sentiment was dented by an 8 percent drop in Intel, which offered a gloomy forecast and revealed plans to cut operational and capital expenditures.

A recent Goldman Sachs report noted that foreign investors have sold an estimated $63 billion worth of US equities since the beginning of March. The brokerage, according to a Bloomberg report, notes that the European investors have been the primary drivers of the sell-off, while investors from other regions have continued to buy US stocks.

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The White House hinted earlier in the week at a potential softening of its stance on Chinese tariffs—currently as high as 145 percent—China later clarified there were no ongoing talks. However, a news report by Bloomberg also reported that China is possibly mulling over a plan to pull back on their tariffs to US.

Despite Friday’s pullback, major indexes closed the week in solid territory. The Nasdaq climbed 5.4 percent, the S&P 500 gained 3.8 percent, and the Dow added 2 percent.