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Good morning investors!

If this is your first time reading, welcome to The Investor’s Edge — a thriving community of over 22,000 subscribers striving to be better investors with an edge in the market.

Every Wednesday we publish “The Mid-Week Wrap-Up” — your ticket to being well informed and staying ahead in the investment game!

This report is designed to help investors of all skill levels break down important stories/topics within the stock market. And best of all, we cut through all of the BS and give you exactly what you need to know in easy to digest, bite sized pieces of content.

This article is designed to truly give you that EDGE in the day ahead!

Grab your afternoon pick me up and let’s dive in.

Market Talk

The major indexes have seen some major swings, but the latest news of a tariff pause just led to a huge jump in stocks.

3 Stories Moving the Market

These are some of the biggest stories so far this week that are having an influence on market action.

The latest on tariffs—China, EU hit back with tariffs on US goods as Trump's ‘reciprocal tariffs’ take effect

President Trump confirmed no pause on new tariffs, with sweeping U.S. trade duties taking effect at midnight last night—most notably a 104% tariff on Chinese imports, sparking global market volatility and fears of recession. 

China retaliated by raising its tariff on U.S. goods to 84% and restricting more American firms, while the EU imposed 25% counter-tariffs this morning. 

Over 185 countries were affected as the U.S. imposed new rates on major trade partners, including Vietnam (46%), Japan (24%), India (26%), South Korea (25%), and Switzerland (31%).

Markets slumped worldwide, oil hit four-year lows, and economists warned tariffs could cost U.S. households thousands annually. Despite economic risks, Trump defended the tariffs as necessary to rebuild U.S. industry.

*Note - as we were about to hit send, Trump just announced a 90 day pause on all tariffs.

Walmart scraps quarterly forecast, says Trump tariffs could hit quarterly profits

Walmart $WMT ( ▲ 2.42% ) has withdrawn its first-quarter operating income guidance due to uncertainty surrounding the newly imposed U.S. tariffs on imports from China, Vietnam, and other key sourcing regions.

The company originally projected a 0.5% to 2.0% increase in adjusted operating income but now says it's keeping flexibility to manage prices and absorb potential tariff costs. Despite this, Walmart reaffirmed its Q1 sales growth outlook of 3% to 4% and is sticking with its full-year forecast, including 3% to 4% net sales growth and 3.5% to 5.5% operating income growth.

CFO John David Rainey cited increased difficulty in forecasting income amid weakened consumer sentiment, week-to-week sales volatility, and a softer performance in higher-margin general merchandise.

However, Walmart remains optimistic, pointing to past success navigating economic turbulence. CEO Doug McMillon described the current landscape as "fluid," but reiterated Walmart's focus on price leadership, expense control, and long-term resilience.

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Delta CEO says Trump tariffs are hurting bookings as airline pulls 2025 forecast

Delta Air Lines $DAL ( ▲ 3.86% ) beat Q1 expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.46 (vs. $0.38 expected) and adjusted revenue of $12.98B, up 3% YoY. 

However, the company struck a cautious tone for the rest of 2025, citing soft bookings and rising uncertainty tied to President Trump’s shifting trade policies and tariffs.

CEO Ed Bastian called the trade approach “the wrong one,” noting that Delta will no longer expand flight capacity in the second half of the year due to declining consumer and corporate confidence. 

Travel demand, once up 10% early in the year, slowed significantly mid-February. While international and premium cabins remain stable, main cabin bookings have weakened. Despite holding back on updating full-year guidance, Delta reaffirmed its profitability outlook and said it would defer purchases of Airbus aircraft affected by tariffs.

Full earnings recap and our takeaway will be in Friday’s earnings recap.

In Other News

In this section we'll be curating a selection of news headlines we think you'll find interesting. If a topic catches your eye, click the provided links to read more about it.

• Apple bounces 3% after worst losing streak since 2000

• Amazon cancels some inventory orders from China after tariffs

• Jamie Dimon says a recession is ‘likely outcome’ from Trump’s tariff turmoil

• Treasury Secretary Bessent says ‘it’s Main Street’s turn’ after Wall Street grew wealthy for 4 decades

• Bonds crater, 10-year yield briefly spikes above 4.5% in confounding move that’s worrying Wall Street

• Pharmaceutical stocks fall as Trump doubles down on tariffs threat

• Walgreens tops estimates as drugstore chain cuts costs, prepares to go private

• U.S. crude oil falls 3%, trades below $58 per barrel as China imposes retaliatory tariffs

The Second Half

While there are two major inflation reports and several bank earnings on the calendar to end the week, any additional tariff news will be the major catalyst for markets.

Earnings Reports

Banks kick off earnings season on Friday. Here are the names we’ll be watching:

Here is the calendar of earnings releases scheduled for the rest of the week:

Economic Reports

There are two key inflation reports to the end the week — the CPI and PPI — and investors will be watching both very closely.

We also will get initial jobless claims, consumer sentiment, and the minutes from the Fed’s most recent meeting.

Here is the full calendar of events scheduled for the remainder of the week:

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Thank you for reading this edition of the Mid-Week Wrap-Up.

Until next time investors!

Mark & Chris

The Investor’s Edge

Disclosure

This is not investing advice. It is very important that you do your own research and make investments based on your own personal circumstances, preferences, goals and risk tolerance.