Live Vanguard IT ETF (VGT): Markets Dig in Heels Until Economy Is in Clear

By Gerelyn Terzo Updated May 6, 4:02PM EDT · Published May 6, 11:02AM EDT

Key Points

The markets remain under pressure, including technology stocks, as the Fed meets to discuss interest rates.
The White House says it is in talks with the majority of its trade partners with the glaring exception of China.

Live Updates

Trade Update

May 6, 2025 at 4:02 PM EDT | Gerelyn Terzo

VGT is headed for a 0.43% decline today alongside losses in all three of the major stock market averages. President Trump during a meeting with Canada’s PM Mark Carney at the White House inserted some doubt about tariff-deal progress. He clarified that the U.S. is not under any pressure to sign trade agreements. Instead, the pressure is on U.S. trade partners to reach them with the White House, he suggested. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been more optimistic on trade progress in recent weeks. Each of the three major stock market indices finished the trading session lower by less than 1%, showing some restraint.

Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

May 6, 2025 at 12:09 PM EDT | Gerelyn Terzo

The markets remain under pressure as of mid-afternoon trading, including a 0.64% decline in the Vanguard IT ETF. The ETF’s biggest member, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) with an 18% weighting, is moving fractionally higher today. Here are some of today’s Wall Street analyst moves:

Goldman Sachs has reiterated its “neutral” rating on Elon Musk’s Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) while keeping bullish on its autonomous driving technology. The analyst firm recognized China as Tesla’s biggest market.

BMO analysts have launched coverage of e-commerce platform Shopify (Nasdaq: SHOP) with an “outperform” rating.

JPMorgan has turned sour on Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG), downgrading shares from an “overweight” rating to “neutral” on softening demand and some operational issues.

Economists Expect Fed to Keep Rates Unchanged

May 6, 2025 at 11:02 AM EDT | Gerelyn Terzo

Wells Fargo economists have issued a report on what to expect from this week’s FOMC meeting. They emphasized “soft” data that is sending a warning signal on the economy while hard data from the tariff impacts remains inconclusive. As a result, the economists predict the Fed will hold interest rates steady, writing, “We expect the FOMC will leave its target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 4.25%-4.50% at this week’s meeting.”

This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.

The markets are in sell-off mode in a key week for trade negotiations and interest rates. All three of the major stock market averages are stuck in reverse due to the economic uncertainty despite the White House’s best efforts to promote calm. Vanguard’s IT index is off less than 1% while all three of the major stock market averages remain under pressure.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a former hedge fund trader, revealed that the White House is in talks with the majority of its trade partners to reach deals on trade, with the glaring exception of China. He also cast doubts on the notion that an economic recession was about to rear its head, saying there is no sign of that at the moment despite shrinking GDP as of Q1.

Hedge fund tycoon Paul Tudor Jones is bearish on the stock market, telling CNBC the markets have further to fall regardless of whether the White House lowers tariffs on China imports as low as 50%.

Ford’s (NYSE: F) highly anticipated Q1 results revealed the impact of the tariffs on the auto sector, which has had a target on its back. Ford warned that the tariff impact on profits would be a whopping $1.5 billion while also refraining from providing further guidance.

Here’s a look at where things stand as of morning trading:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: Down 131.46 (-0.32%)
Nasdaq Composite: Down 92.04 (-0.54%)
S&P 500: Down 22.15 (-0.39%)

Market Movers

Palantir Technologies (Nasdaq: PLTR) as lost a whopping $40 billion in market capitalization today alongside a 14.4% decline in the share price, making it one of today’s biggest losers in the stock market. The data tech company reported better-than-expected Q1 results but showed weakness in international sales. CEO Alex Karp has reversed earlier plans to offload PLTR shares amid a longer-term bullish trend in the stock price. OpenAI will no longer seek for-profit status. Elon Musk’s xAI has partnered with Palantir and investment firm TWG to bring AI more prominently into the financial services realm.

Toy company Mattel (NYSE: MAT) has reportedly warned that toy manufacturing isn’t likely to flood the USA but price hikes will hit the consumer. The stock is up fractionally today.

Lemonade (NYSE: LMND), an AI-driven life insurance provider, is a winner in today’s market, adding 4.2% today after beating quarterly revenue estimates despite operating at a loss.

Constellation Energy (Nasdaq: CEG) is up 6.6% on the day after reporting its Q1 results.

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About the Author Gerelyn Terzo →

Gerelyn Terzo is the author of dividend investing handbook "Dividend Investing Strategies: How to Have Your Cake & Eat It Too." A veteran financial journalist, she covers agri-finance for outlets like Global AgInvesting and the broader stock market and personal finance for 24/7 Wall Street. She began at CNBC and later helped launch Fox Business in New York. Gerelyn currently resides in Woodland Park, Colorado and dabbles in nature photography as a hobby.