Major US stock indexes rose moderately, as the news that US President Donald Trump plans to postpone the introduction of tariffs on European cars outweighed weak economic data from the US and China.

Three sources told CNBC that the Trump administration would postpone the decision to impose a 25% duty on European-made cars for up to six months. This news, which was first reported by Bloomberg, led to an increase in car companies.

In addition, Finance Minister Stephen Mnuchin said that, most likely, he would soon go to China to continue trade negotiations.

These messages have allowed to reassure market participants, agitated by previously published weak economic data from the United States and China, which heightened concerns about the slowdown of the global economy.

A report by the Commerce Department showed that US retail sales unexpectedly fell in April, reflecting a sharp decline in car sales. According to the report, retail sales fell by 0.2% after rising 1.7% in March. Economists had expected sales to grow by 0.2%. With the exception of a sharp drop in car sales, retail sales in April rose by 0.1% after rising by 1.3% in March. It was expected that sales excluding cars will grow by 0.7%.

The Fed reported that industrial production in the United States fell by 0.5% in April after rising 0.2% in March, while economists had forecast that the figure would remain unchanged.

Almost all of the components of DOW finished trading in positive territory (27 out of 30). The growth leader was the shares of Visa Inc. (V; + 1.47%). Walmart Inc. shares turned out to be an outsider. (WMT; -0.40%).

Almost all sectors of the S & P recorded an increase. The greatest growth was shown by the technology sector (+ 1.5%). Only the utility sector decreased (-0.1%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 25,648.02 +115.97 +0.45%

S & P 500 2,850.96 +16.55 +0.58%

Nasdaq 100 7,822.15 +87.65 +1.13%

U.S. stock-index futures fell on Wednesday, as disappointing economic data out of the U.S. and China data increased concerns that the global economy is slowing down.

Global Stocks:

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Macy's (M) reported Q1 FY 2019 earnings of $0.44 per share (versus $0.48 in Q1 FY 2018), beating analysts’ consensus of $0.34.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $5.504 bln (-0.7% y/y), generally in line with analysts’ consensus estimate of $5.524 bln.

M rose to $22.81 (+4.63%) in pre-market trading.

Alibaba (BABA) reported Q4 FY 2019 earnings of RMB 8.57 per share (versus RMB 5.73 in Q4 FY 2018), beating analysts’ consensus of RMB 6.50.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to RMB 93.498 bln (+51.0% y/y), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of RMB 91.685 bln.

The company also issued in-line guidance for FY 2020, projecting revenues of over RMB500 bln vs. analysts’ consensus estimate of RMB508.86 bln.

BABA rose to $177.54 (+1.54%) in pre-market trading.