Wall Street advances on trade hopes, data shows investor pessimism

Wall Street advances on trade hopes, data shows investor pessimism

By Sinéad Carew and Pranav Kashyap

Fri May 16, 2025 4:37 PM

Starting out flat all around, all three indexes then rose to still new heights steadily throughout the session and all three indexes had significant advances on the week. This was all despite the U of M Consumer Sentiment report showing an increase in pessimism as well as heightened expectations of inflation and recession. But the market is still riding the wave of optimism from the tariff pause, though today it’s wait-and-see again on the tax bill which has been blocked. Caution remains, “We haven’t even begun to see what happens when those tariffs really bite, when firms have to raise their prices to consumers and consumers see fewer goods and less variety on the shelves.” Volume came in at 17.6 billion, slightly above the 17 billion average.

DJ: 42,322.75  +271.69      NAS: 19,112.32  -34.49        S&P: 5,916.93  +24.35        5/15

DJ: 42,654.74  +331.99      NAS: 19,211.10  +98.78       S&P: 5,958.38  +41.45        5/16

Fri 5-16-25 4:37 pm Wall Street advances on trade hopes, data shows investor pessimism | Reuters

Wall Street ends mixed; Cisco rallies while UnitedHealth tumbles

Wall Street ends mixed; Cisco rallies while UnitedHealth tumbles

By Noel Randewich and Pranav Kashyap

Thu May 15, 2025 4:20 PM

All three indexes started the day in the red, the Dow down nearly 300, the Nasdaq even worse percentage-wise at nearly -200. Then they all began a recovery with the Dow ultimately going well into positive territory and the S&P in its seventh straight day of gains having now fully recovered from the dramatic April losses but still 4% below its February high. The Nasdaq spent almost all day in the red.  

S&P 500 barely gains, investors focus on trade, wait for data

S&P 500 barely gains, investors focus on trade, wait for data

By Sinéad Carew and Shashwat Chauhan

Wed May 14, 2025 4:44 PM

It was a flat day for the S&P, another good day for the Nasdaq and yet another day of profit-taking for the Dow as it came down another notch or two from Monday’s enormous rally. Given no major new data today and looking for PPI and retail sales numbers coming tomorrow, it was a relatively quiet day with tech still moving up as it will be the biggest beneficiary of the tariff pause, and the S&P enjoying now six straight days of gains and now just 4% below its February high before the tariff turmoil dissed it. All eyes are peeled for any sign that the trade war has impacted the economy with no major signs yet but uncertainty prevails. 19.73 billion shares were traded, well above the 16.77 average. 

DJ: 42,140.43  -269.67      NAS: 19,010.09  +301.74      S&P: 5,886.55  +42.36         5/13

DJ: 42,051.06  -89.37        NAS: 19,146.81  +136.72      S&P: 5,892.58  +6.03           5/14

Wed 5-14-25 4:44 pm S&P 500 barely gains, investors focus on trade, wait for data | Reuters

S&P 500, Nasdaq end higher on soft inflation data, trade optimism

S&P 500, Nasdaq end higher on soft inflation data, trade optimism

By Sinéad Carew and Shashwat Chauhan

Tue May 13, 2025 4:41 PM

On a second day of exuberance over the China tariff pause, the tech indexes were substantially straight up again with the Dow taking a break from its enormous rally yesterday with investors taking some profits. This makes sense as the tariff pause poses a big benefit to tech. It took six weeks but today the Nasdaq and S&P has recovered all its losses since “Liberation Day.”

Wall Street equity indexes close higher after US-China tariff truce

Wall Street equity indexes close higher after US-China tariff truce

By Sinéad Carew and Shashwat Chauhan

Mon May 12, 2025 6:52 PM

All three indexes catapulted into the stratosphere right out the gate and stayed that way steadily all day to close with huge gains, the biggest single-day gains in over a month. And what a relief rally it was! The Dow actually broke a +1100, the Nasdaq almost +800 and the S&P into 3-digits which it rarely does. On Friday, expectations were high, though guarded, that there would be progress this weekend in Geneva and though such progress was limited to just a 90-day pause, it was the first really positive step with China and so was greeted with great enthusiasm this morning. 

Wall St closes near flat with focus on US-China talks

Wall St closes near flat with focus on US-China talks

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Fri May 9, 2025 4:17 PM

The big deal is the coming trade talks with China this weekend in Geneva and since the consensus is that things could go either way, the market indexes waffled back and forth most of the day between red and black but mostly straddling break-even. The exception was the Dow which went more deeply into the black most of the day reaching a low point of about a -220 but eventually closing at a -119. 

Wall Street gains as first trade deal reached

Wall Street gains as first trade deal reached

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Thu May 8, 2025 7:00 PM

 

It was a very good day all around even though it started much, much better. Though a slow start, there was a great big jump at 11 a.m. and by noon all the indexes were way up, the Dow up 630 at its height, then suddenly dramatically tumbling in the final half hour. Nonetheless, the day ended with handsome gains all around. After a long wait and much anticipation, the first trade deal was announced, this one with Britain, with some concessions though the tariff would remain in place.  

Late chip rally lifts stocks after Fed holds rates steady

Late chip rally lifts stocks after Fed holds rates steady

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Wed May 7, 2025 7:12 PM

It certainly was a seesaw day all day on all indexes with the S&P and Nasdaq rising and falling between black and red while the Dow went from a high of about +440 ranging to a low of break-even before rallying again at 2 pm to close up 284.  Something happened to cause the crash that happened about 1 pm which cost the Dow all of its gains for the day. Even though the Fed had held rates steady which was widely expected, Powell made the announcement the White House actions were the reason the economic outlook was cloudy, again hardly a state secret.  

Equities close lower as tariff uncertainty weighs

Equities close lower as tariff uncertainty weighs

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Tue May 6, 2025 4:30 PM

Tariff uncertainty continues to haunt the markets and that sent all the indexes straight down today, the Dow and Nasdaq with fairly large 3-digit losses. This was all exacerbated by the announcement of still more tariffs to come, this time on pharmaceuticals. Adding to the turmoil was some walking back from the earlier statement that there would be new trade deals this week, now changed to two more weeks. This is the kind of change the market doesn’t like, continues to sour consumer sentiment as well, plus the added negative of more companies withdrawing profit outlooks. Volume reflects all this, coming in at 14.24 billion, still way below the 4-week average of 17.95 billion. 

DJ: 41,218.83  -98.60       NAS: 17,844.24  -133.49      S&P: 5,650.38  -36.29          5/5

DJ: 40,829.00  -389.83     NAS: 17,689.66  -154.58      S&P: 5,606.90  -43.48          5/6

Tue 5-6-25 4:30 pm Equities close lower as tariff uncertainty weighs | Reuters

S&P 500 snaps 9-session win streak after latest Trump tariff

S&P 500 snaps 9-session win streak after latest Trump tariff

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Mon May 5, 2025 4:16 PM  

After the S&P’s longest winning streak in 20 years and the Dow’s longest in two, all three indexes dove today in what the experts could only characterize as “nine up days is hard to maintain.” The session started way down, the Dow opening down almost 250, the S&P and Nasdaq much more dramatically at -50 and -190.  Then there was an almost immediate resurgence until 3 pm when the Dow even went momentarily in the black reaching a gain of almost 150 before all declined again. Several triggers included more tariff announcements, continued concerns over how tariffs will impact profits, and Warren Buffett announcing stepping down as CEO at year’s end though he will remain as chair. Wait-and-see is still very much in play as reflected by way below average volume of 13.67 billion vs 18.68 average.  

DJ: 41,317.43  +564.47       NAS: 17,977.73  +266.99      S&P: 5,686.68  +82.54        5/2

DJ: 41,218.83  -98.60          NAS: 17,844.24  -133.49       S&P: 5,650.38  -36.29         5/5

Mon 5-5-25 4:36 pm S&P 500 snaps 9-session win streak after latest Trump tariff | Reuters

Wall Street stocks buoyed by strong economic data, possible US-China trade talks

Wall Street stocks buoyed by strong economic data, possible US-China trade talks

By Chibuike Oguh and Sruthi Shankar

Fri May 2, 2025 5:29 PM  

Earlier labor reports this week showing a slowing in hiring and an increase in layoffs as well as contracting GDP was flatly contradicted today by today’s payroll report showing a whopping 177,000 new jobs in April obviously exceeding expectations and thus shooting all three indexes straight up from the open and staying that way all day. Sentiment was also boosted by the hint that China may be reconsidering opening trade negotiations. Both the Dow and Nasdaq got big 3-digit boosts with the S&P not far behind. The Dow has now had its ninth consecutive win, its strongest streak since 2023 and the S&P also its ninth, its longest in 11 years. For the week, the three had gains between 2.9 and 3.4%.  

Stocks close higher, lifted by Microsoft, Meta earnings

Stocks close higher, lifted by Microsoft, Meta earnings

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Thu May 1, 2025 4:29 PM

 

Today was yet another demonstration of how easily sentiment can change on Wall Street. Q1 on two of the Magnificent Seven – Microsoft and Meta – came in today and the reports were glowing, glowing enough to at least momentarily convince investors that the tariffs weren’t hurting earnings after all. This sent the three indexes way up, the Dow up a big 430 points by 11:30. But the reveries were short-lived as the decline began after that with the reality check that there remains a great deal of uncertainty with still many companies completely foregoing any forecasts.  

Late rally propels Dow, S&P 500 to slight gains

Late rally propels Dow, S&P 500 to slight gains

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Wed April 30, 2025 7:06 PM

With Q1 GDP coming in so poorly this morning, all the indexes went deeply into the red, the Dow down some 800 points by 10 a.m. GDP had gone from some 2.5% in Q4 to a -0.5% in Q1, the first contraction in three years. GDP even seriously underperformed the very pessimistic forecast which +0.3% coming in nearly a full percentage point below that. After three years of growth, the markets panicked but at least began an almost immediate recovery despite the fact that only half the number of estimated jobs had been added in April. The good news was that consumer and business spending was up, but this was mostly due to a boost in buying ahead of the tariffs. 

US stocks close higher; oil drops amid recession fears, trade talks

US stocks close higher; oil drops amid recession fears, trade talks

By Stephen Culp

April 29, 2025 4:34 PM

 

It was right at 1 pm that all three indexes started moving straight up after straddling flat all morning. In a market that’s desperate for any hint of good news, that little hint from Bessent of potential progress in trade talks must have come at 1 pm. But the fact that the bulk of the gains went to the Dow with a handsome 3-digit advance also indicates that it’s still risk-off. There was also good news on Trump’s announcement that the automobile tariffs were being scaled back a bit.  

S&P 500 ekes out slight gain with data, megacap earnings eyed

S&P 500 ekes out slight gain with data, megacap earnings eyed

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Mon April 28, 2025 4:21 PM

All three indexes spent most of the day in the red, but were up the morning, the Dow up some 300 points, before declining into deep losses in the afternoon, the Dow reaching a low of a -250 by 1:30, the Nasdaq doing considerably worse at a -250 as well by 1:30. The main trigger was poor performance by Nvidia and Amazon, Nvidia being hit particularly hard by China’s Huawei announcing their testing of a new super-AI chip that they hope will leave their U.S. competitor in the dust. The good news is that after 1:30, they all came all the way back with the Dow closing with another 3-digit gain and the tech sectors reaching break-even. And though the S&P’s gain was only slight, it still marked its fourth straight advance. 

Wall Street ends with weekly gains as trade negotiations, earnings in focus

Wall Street ends with weekly gains as trade negotiations, earnings in focus

By Stephen Culp

Fri April 25, 2025 4:23 PM

The day started in the red on all the indexes but almost immediately began to rise on a fourth day of optimism over cooling trade-war relations with China. The Dow fared less favorably, way in the red almost all day but recovering to near break-even by close. But the Dow coming down while tech goes up is actually good news as it indicates an increasing appetite for risk and moving out of safe assets.  

Wall Street ends higher on tech boost, easing tariff tensions

Wall Street ends higher on tech boost, easing tariff tensions

By Stephen Culp

Thu April 24, 2025 4:20 PM

For the third day, optimism over the hoped-for easing of trade relations with China boosted the market into once-again substantial 3-digit gains with the tech sector helping considerably since tech and particularly AI depends so much on China.  As today’s expert put it, “Part of the reason you’re seeing the chips lead is because they’ve been kind of in the bulls-eye in the trade dispute with China.” But, not to be too optimistic, “There’s still a ton of questions around tariffs right now that we really don’t have answers to. So a lot of us are just kind of throwing darts in the dark.”  

Wall Street ends higher on hopes of trade war de-escalation

Wall Street ends higher on hopes of trade war de-escalation

By Stephen Culp

Wed April 23, 2025 4:17 PM  

The indexes, still feeling profound relief from yesterday’s dual hints that Trump would not try to fire Powell and Bessent stating, today in even stronger terms, that there would likely be easing in the China tariff war, had all the markets way up in the morning, the Dow reaching a whopping +1400 by 10:30 a.m. but then steadily declining throughout the rest of the session.  Still, there were healthy 3-digit gains all-around by close, no doubt also helped by a continuing healthy Q1 with 110 companies now reporting with 75% beating estimates.  

Wall Street ends higher on earnings, hopes of easing tariff tensions

Wall Street ends higher on earnings, hopes of easing tariff tensions

By Stephen Culp

Tue April 22, 2025 4:56 PM

Today went precisely the opposite of yesterday and all it took was the slightest hint from the White House that Trump did not intend to try to fire Powell and another slight hint from Bessent that there may be a de-escalation in tensions with China. That combo sent the markets soaring and even wiping out all of yesterday’s huge losses, though just barely so, but not even touching the big losses from last week, Tuesday thru Thursday. Also boosting the market is Q1 picking up with 82 companies reporting and 73% beating forecasts.  

US stocks, dollar slide; Trump's attacks on Fed chair fuel anxiety

US stocks, dollar slide; Trump's attacks on Fed chair fuel anxiety

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Mon April 21, 2025 5:27 PM

At least today’s fiasco did not lead to another round of 4-digit losses, though it came close. And though Trump began his attacks against Fed Chair Powell last week, today Trump doubled down quite a bit more than usual by suggesting that he could replace Powell (which he cannot) and that lower interest rates were critical for saving the economy. This double whammy sent the markets tumbling and increased fear and uncertainty substantially with these real threats to the future independence of the Fed, which has always been the stabilizing rod for the economy, may be in question.  

Wall Street choppy as Eli Lilly jumps, UnitedHealth plummets

Wall Street choppy as Eli Lilly jumps, UnitedHealth plummets

By Noel Randewich and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

Thu April 17, 2025 4:33 PM

Considering how news and sentiment changes hour by hour and given the holiday weekend, there was a general “playing it safe” sell off today due to hesitancy to stay in the market over the long holiday weekend. The S&P and Nasdaq swayed back and forth between red and black, the S&P even having a healthy gain of about 50 points by 3 p.m., even though the Dow remained solidly in the red all day. In a way that’s good though since the Dow does better when things are risky so this might mean investors are becoming less risk-averse overall.  

Wall Street ends sharply lower; Nvidia drops, Powell says growth appears to be slowing

Wall Street ends sharply lower; Nvidia drops, Powell says growth appears to be slowing

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Wed April 16, 2025 4:30 PM

The market opened down all around but only modestly so due to the announcement yesterday that there would be new curbs on chip exports to China. But the real one-two punch came about 1:30 p.m. which is when Powell must have announced that more inflation and slower growth were likely due to the tariffs and the double whammy of Nvidia saying it would be taking steep charges to the tune of $5.5 billion on its AI chips.  

Wall Street ends down slightly; tariff uncertainty keeps investors on edge

Wall Street ends down slightly; tariff uncertainty keeps investors on edge

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Tue April 15, 2025 6:36 PM

It was another seesaw day with all the indexes up in the morning, the Dow up over 270 points, before starting a slow descent less than an hour in and reaching breakeven at 1 pm before closing down, the Dow off 155, the Nasdaq and S&P ending almost at a wash. This activity might best be explained by today’s expert, “Earnings have been pretty good, but this is a market that’s just beset by tariff and trade uncertainty and those are really the only catalysts that matter at this point.”  

Wall Street ends higher with Apple shares as investors assess tariff exemptions

Wall Street ends higher with Apple shares as investors assess tariff exemptions

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Mon April 14, 2025 6:31 PM

It was another seesaw day with the indexes way up in the morning, the Dow up some 550 points by 11 a.m. when suddenly all three indexes came crashing down until noon, the Dow losing all its gains plus 50 in the red, then all three rising again dramatically until 3 pm, the Dow again gaining more than 600 before falling again in the final ¼ hour to close up 312. That’s one rollercoaster! It was all a combo of the elation from Friday of electronics being momentarily exempted from the tariffs to the continued uncertainties about the rest of the tariffs. For today anyway, what’s good for Apple is good for the market and the exemption was very good for Apple as well as Dell and HP, all of which rose between 2 and 4%.  

Wall St ends whipsaw week sharply higher as Fed comments soothe market

Wall St ends whipsaw week sharply higher as Fed comments soothe market

By Stephen Culp

Fri April 11, 2025 6:05 PM

The good news is that after all three indexes whipsawed around break-even during the morning, the Dow down some 350 by 11:30, then all three soared for the rest of the day, albeit not as radically as Wednesday but still quite substantially. The trigger was likely a combo of positive Q1 reporting from JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo as well as Fed comments that they were prepared to protect financial markets and hold stagflation in check and that the economy was not entering high inflation and low growth. Then there was the bad news.  

US stocks, dollar drop on lingering tariff worries, a day after relief rally

US stocks, dollar drop on lingering tariff worries, a day after relief rally

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Thu April 10, 2025 5:41 PM

The Great Elation lasted but all of one day, despite the fact that there was a sudden upturn in the market ten minutes before close yesterday which should have meant a continued rally today. But the overnight brought more level heads into the reality that there is still a major trade war going with China and Trump once again intensified that reality by raising the tariff on China from 104% earlier this week to 125% yesterday to 145% today. Even without the increase, the reality check would have brought the markets down but the double reality check brought it way down, though thankfully the indexes only lost about 1/3 of the gains made yesterday.  

Stocks spring higher, dollar gains as Trump announces tariff pause excluding China

Stocks spring higher, dollar gains as Trump announces tariff pause excluding China

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Wed April 9, 2025 5:54 PM

Once again, Trump pulled an earth-shattering surprise but this time it was good news when he announced a 90-day pause on all the reciprocal tariffs that were to go into effect today, China being excepted where there was not only a pause but an increase to 125%.  Until then it was a very quiet day compared to most with all the indexes straddling flat until 1:15 p.m. That had to be when the announcement was made and the market reacted with one of the biggest rallies in history, a single day gain on the Dow of over 2900, on the Nasdaq of over 1800. 

S&P 500 hits lowest close in almost a year as hopes wane for tariff concessions

S&P 500 hits lowest close in almost a year as hopes wane for tariff concessions

By Sinéad Carew and Shashwat Chauhan

Tue April 8, 2025 6:32 PM

Expecting … hoping! … that China would blink before the midnight deadline, all the indexes were way up in the morning, the Dow up over 1500. Then around 10:30 came the fateful announcement not only that China wasn’t about to blink but that Trump was going to issue a further penalty of 104%. This sent the market plummeting again as hopes for concessions evaporated and by 3 pm lost all their gains and dove another 900 points in the red before zooming up in the last fifteen minutes to recover all but 320. Does that last minute rally portend a good day for tomorrow?  

Dow, S&P 500 end wild session lower, Trump digs in on tariffs

Dow, S&P 500 end wild session lower, Trump digs in on tariffs

By Sinéad Carew and Pranav Kashyap

Mon April 7, 2025 5:02 PM

Ain’t social media grand? As was expected from the weekend’s dire futures, all three indexes opened down, way down, the Dow plunging another 1700 points, the Nasdaq another equally whopping 800 points. But it didn’t last long, until 10 a.m. to be exact. It was at that hour that somebody somewhere posted a comment that Fox had reported that the White House would be pausing the tariffs by 3 months. This triggered a huge rally with the Dow shooting up some 2700 points. That too did not last long as by 10:20 a.m. both Fox and the White House confirmed that this news did not come from them and was not at all true.  

Trump tariff tailspin worsens, Nasdaq confirms in bear market

Trump tariff tailspin worsens, Nasdaq confirms in bear market

By David French

Fri April 4, 2025 5:11 PM

The disaster continues as for the second day following the draconian tariff announcements all three indexes went into freefall again, today even worse than yesterday with the Dow falling over 500 points further than it fell yesterday, throwing the index once again into an unprecedented 4-figure loss two days in a row. All three indexes suffered losses in the 9-11% range for the last two days, losses for the week topping records from the past five years. The VIX jumped a whopping 50% today after jumping a whopping 40% yesterday, jumping from 30 to 45 in just one day and putting the “fear index” now well into panic territory.  

Wall Street ends with heavy losses on fears Trump tariffs will trigger recession

Wall Street ends with heavy losses on fears Trump tariffs will trigger recession

By David French

Thu April 3, 2025 4:00 PM

As was widely expected, today was a historic disaster as all three indexes suffered their biggest one-day percentage losses in five years due to massive fears triggered by yesterday’s sweeping and severe tariffs announcement. All the indexes closed down in the 4-6% range. All expectations for earnings and revenues for most companies are going to be lowered. Big tech got hit particularly hard with Apple, Amazon, and Nvidia all down about 9%. There is a mystery in that, though the freefall began right at open, at about 11 a.m. a significant recovery began that abruptly halted, again on all three indexes, right at 1 p.m. when the freefall then continued unstopped for the rest of the session. I’ve found no explanation for what happened at either 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. 

Wall Street ends higher, rebounds in choppy trade ahead of Trump tariff plan

Wall Street ends higher, rebounds in choppy trade ahead of Trump tariff plan

By David French

Wed April 2, 2025 4:20 PM

On dour anticipation of today’s tariff announcement, all three indexes started in the red but then quickly started gaining ground, albeit very choppy, with the Dow and Nasdaq once again in 3-digit gains by close. Trump did not deliver the tariff news until about an hour after the markets closed and, hedging bets, investors were buying ahead of the news expecting a moderate approach. Also prompting the buying was reported news that Trump may be phasing out Musk’s role sooner than expected.  

S&P, Nasdaq end higher as Wall Street gyrates in Trump-tariffs limbo

S&P, Nasdaq end higher as Wall Street gyrates in Trump-tariffs limbo

By David French

Tue April 1, 2025 5:55 PM

There was all kind of erratic trading today with all indexes bouncing back and forth between black and red but closing near even except for the Nasdaq that enjoyed a healthy 3-digit gain. Tomorrow’s D-Day with all the markets bracing for whatever shock is coming, but there is at least some agreement that there will be at least a little more clarity after tomorrow which may help stabilize things a bit. Others are more skeptical, the overall backdrop expected to remain highly uncertain.  

S&P, Nasdaq post big quarterly percentage drops on Trump tariff turmoil

S&P, Nasdaq post big quarterly percentage drops on Trump tariff turmoil

By David French

Mon March 31, 2025 4:54 PM

Today, rather than getting more assurances from the White House that the tariffs coming this Wednesday would be measured, instead there was the announcement Sunday that they would be widespread and include all nations which caused all the indexes to open down, the Nasdaq way down. The rest of the session was in recovery mode with the S&P and Dow doing better due to more safe haven stocks being available there.  

Wall Street tumbles as fresh data fuels inflation fear

Wall Street tumbles as fresh data fuels inflation fear

By Noel Randewich and Pranav Kashyap

Fri March 28, 2025 4:31 PM

The highly awaited PCE numbers came with a disappointment showing what was feared – inflation up and thus consumer spending down, or to put it more accurately, spending rebounded less than expected. All in all, it just further fueled the fires of fear and uncertainty and, combined with the coming automobile tariffs, sent all three indexes spiraling way down constantly all day, major 3-digit drops all around. The U of M consumer inflation survey showed expectations exploding to a 2-1/2 year high, beating down stalwarts Apple, Microsoft and Amazon from 2.7% to 4.3%. All three indexes were down for the week from 1% to 2.6%. And it gets worse.  

S&P 500 ends lower as investors digest Trump's auto tariffs

S&P 500 ends lower as investors digest Trump's auto tariffs

By Noel Randewich

Thu March 27, 2025 4:20 PM

On this second day, the shock of the automobile tariffs coming April 3^rd and auto parts coming May 3^rd continues to rattle automakers with both GM and Ford down another 7% and 3.9% respectively after yesterday’s big hit. Auto parts makers also took a 5% hit. As today’s expert put it, “Investors are really cautious and wary of Trump and his policies. Even more than the policies, just the constant flip-flopping, making people really nervous about making long-term investments.”  

Wall Street ends down sharply on tariff worries; Nvidia and Tesla drop

Wall Street ends down sharply on tariff worries; Nvidia and Tesla drop

By Noel Randewich

Wed March 26, 2025 4:37 PM

Detroit got bad news today. The market didn’t have to wait until April 2^nd for a hoped-for allay of tariff fears. They got it with both barrels today with Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on all foreign-made autos and auto parts. Since most even domestic autos are made with at least some (and often many) foreign made parts, the entire U.S. auto industry will be impacted which sent all three indexes straight down from the open and staying that way all day, closing again with 3-digit losses.  

US stocks end higher as traders focus on tariffs, data

US stocks end higher as traders focus on tariffs, data

By Noel Randewich

Tue March 25, 2025 4:14 PM

It was a third day of betting on optimism in the hopes that Trump’s April 2^nd tariff announcement will be moderate, but today the price movement was much more erratic with the indexes well up in the morning, then down in the afternoon, the Dow up over a hundred in the a.m., then down over a hundred in the p.m., but all closing near break-even except the Nasdaq that had a more robust day.  

S&P 500 ends sharply higher, Nvidia and Tesla rally

S&P 500 ends sharply higher, Nvidia and Tesla rally

By Noel Randewich

Mon March 24, 2025 4:33 PM

It’s not often that all three indexes enjoy very substantial 3-digit gains, especially from the S&P for which hundred-point daily gains are almost unheard of, but that’s what happened on this the second day that Trump has signaled once again that the April 2^nd tariffs may be more measured than across the board. The indexes were all straight up right out the gate and stayed that way, supported strongly by the return of losses to Nvidia and Tesla due to the new tariff optimism.  

Wall St ends higher, dollar rises as Trump signals tariff respite

Wall St ends higher, dollar rises as Trump signals tariff respite

By Stephen Culp

Fri March 21, 2025 4:46 PM

The day started with the usual morning terrors with all the indexes way down on tariff and other economic fears, the Dow down over 500 points by 10 a.m. But then the market started to climb and continued the climb all day, very likely because of Trump once again giving the hint that he may not be as strict with the April 2^nd tariffs after all. But the consensus remains that the gains would have been stronger except for weakness in the sensitive sectors which are strongly impacted by uncertainty.  

Stocks slip in choppy trade as economic, tariff outlook eyed

Stocks slip in choppy trade as economic, tariff outlook eyed

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Thu March 20, 2025 4:21 PM

All three indexes had a very good morning with the Dow up nearly 300 points by 11 a.m., before all three began sliding after noon and continued to close with modest losses. So the Fed optimism lasted but a day when inflation and uncertainty took the front seat again today.  There’s nothing in the news that points to any near-term exit to this nervousness. As today’s expert put it, “When I survey the near-term news flow, I don’t have a lot of hope that we’re suddenly going to leap out of this.” The job outlook may be dimming due to government spending cuts and policy uncertainty and Q1 prospects are also dimming due to the tariff outlook.  Today’s 13.06 billion shares remains well below the 16.28 4-week average. 

DJ: 41,964.63  +383.32      NAS: 17,750.79  +246.67      S&P: 5,675.29  +60.63         3/19

DJ: 41,953.32  -11.31         NAS: 17,691.63  -59.16         S&P: 5,662.89  -12.40          3/20

Thu 3-20-25 4:21 pm Stocks slip in choppy trade as economic, tariff outlook eyed | Reuters

Wall Street rallies after Fed keeps rates unchanged

Wall Street rallies after Fed keeps rates unchanged

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Wed March 19, 2025 4:23 PM

As the markets more or less got what they wanted from the Fed this afternoon, which was a little more certainty (or less uncertainty), the indexes once again had a good surge, substantial 3-digit gains on both the Dow and Nasdaq, and the S&P had a pretty good day too. The Fed basically restated its previous positions that they expected growth to continue slowing and inflation to continue growing. The good news is that both the contraction in growth and the rise in inflation is forecasted to be moderate and, for this month’s report, both had nudged just a bit. But Powell repeated the complication that it would be difficult to gauge how much Trump’s policies are contributing to inflation and how much is to other long-present factors.  

Wall Street ends lower on tariff worry as Fed decision eyed

Wall Street ends lower on tariff worry as Fed decision eyed

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Tue March 18, 2025 4:23 PM

Yesterday there was a rally that may have been based on optimism over positive news from the Fed coming Wednesday when they will be delivering the added benefit of a report on economic projections, giving the market a much desired clearer picture of how Trump’s policies, particularly regarding tariffs, will impact the economy. Today, there was a lot more caution in the air as investors now are hedging their bets against not so great news. 

US stocks rally as investors weigh economic data, Trump policies

US stocks rally as investors weigh economic data, Trump policies

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Mon March 17, 2025 4:34 PM

All three indexes were more or less chugging along near flat (except Nasdaq in the red) until 1 pm when everything soared for the afternoon, only suddenly declining again in the final 15 minutes but still all closing in the green with the Dow once again into very respectable 3-digit gains. Like Friday, this is once again being attributed to picking up bargains after several weeks of tumble. But Trump’s policies remain a major area of nervousness and uncertainty and consumer sentiment continues to fall substantially.  

Wall St ends sharply higher as selloff prompts dip-buying rally

Wall St ends sharply higher as selloff prompts dip-buying rally

By Stephen Culp

Thu March 14, 2025 4:27 PM

Finally, finally!  Despite all the problems that remain out there, the market has finally gone low enough that investors felt comfortable picking up bargains and buying on the dip which I’m sure everybody hopes means that, despite both the S&P and Nasdaq being in correction and despite the continuing brutal uncertainty over the tariff wars, that maybe the indexes won’t go much lower. So today we had fantastic mid-to-upper range 3-digit gains across the board for the best single day since the day after the election when elation due to hopes of a better economy ruled. But it was still the fourth straight week of losses for the S&P and Nasdaq and six of the Magnificent 7 remain down for the year.  

Stocks sink with S&P 500 in correction, bonds in demand amid tariff angst

Stocks sink with S&P 500 in correction, bonds in demand amid tariff angst

By Sinéad Carew and Harry Robertson

Thu March 13, 2025 5:08 PM

The tariff wars continue to heat up and, in direct correlation, the stock market continues to drop drastically with big 3-digit dips across the board. Today, in addition to the Wednesday tariff on European steel and aluminum, now there is the additional threat of 200% tariffs on the EU as it becomes a litany of tariffs followed by reciprocal tariffs followed by more reciprocal tariffs and, so far, no one has been blinking. With the good inflation data reported yesterday and today from the CPI and PPI, we should be having a big rally but such momentum has been squashed by the ever-escalating trade war and fears of the recession it may well trigger. 

S&P 500, Nasdaq end higher as cool inflation data calms tariff jitters

S&P 500, Nasdaq end higher as cool inflation data calms tariff jitters

By Stephen Culp

Wed March 12, 2025 4:47 PM

All three indexes went into freefall in the morning session, the Dow losing about 300 points before noon.  But then a CPI report showing inflation heading in the desired direction pumped up everyone’s spirits which started a nice rally, especially in tech, a rally that likely would have been a lot stronger if not for all the fears and uncertainty surrounding the tariff wars. Because of the trade wars, “we really expect the uncertainty and volatility to continue here through much of March. Wall Street and Main Street are still looking for direction.”  

Stocks fall, adding to biggest selloff in months on economic fears

Stocks fall, adding to biggest selloff in months on economic fears

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Tue March 11, 2025 4:48 PM

The grand sell ff continues but today with a great deal of whipsaw action as the market reacts to even more new tariff news, the Dow whipping back and forth between lows of a 700+ point loss and a high of a 50 point loss.  After 1:30 pm we saw a brief comeback with the news of Canada dialing back and progress in the Ukraine peace talks, but that quickly went back to a dive around 3 pm with the reality check that so far this is just talk, not action. 

Wall Street ends sharply lower as recession fears loom

Wall Street ends sharply lower as recession fears loom

By Stephen Culp

Mon March 10, 2025 4:51 PM

 

It was a brutal, merciless day as all three indexes plunged drastically from the outset and straight down all day as the on-again-off-again tariffs compounded by still more new tariffs and reciprocal tariffs have left investors in serious fear of recession. The Dow hit a loss of almost 1200 points by 3 pm before recovering a little bit with the tech indexes having similar monumental drops that haven’t been seen in nearly 3 years. And it didn’t help matters one bit when Trump would not rule out a recession.  

Wall St ends higher after Fed chief's comments, but posts big weekly loss

Wall St ends higher after Fed chief's comments, but posts big weekly loss

By Chibuike Oguh, Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

Fri March 7, 2025 4:43 PM

Once again it took just the slightest hint of good economic news to send the indexes soaring again. But that’s not the way the day started, with all three indexes suffering dramatic slumps right out the gate, the Dow down 400 points by noon with the Nasdaq and S&P incurring similar morning dips. It must have been around noon that Powell delivered his remarks that the economy was “in a good place” that shot both the Dow and Nasdaq back into 3-digit gains again by close. But Powell had to strongly caution that the uncertainty created by Trump’s tariff policies is certainly problematic and thus there will be no rush to rate cuts.  

Stocks drop, dollar weakens as latest Trump tariff news weighed

Stocks drop, dollar weakens as latest Trump tariff news weighed

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Thu March 6, 2025 3:54 PM

On Wednesday, Trump announced that he was considering a one-month pause on the tariffs with Canada and Mexico and the stock market zoomed on just this little hint, any little hint, that the trade war may be easing. And today Trump did it, announced the one-month. But today it had the opposite effect. Today the market decided that, pause or no pause, there was just too much uncertainty here. As today’s expert put it, “Trump has been very confusing about these tariffs. One day they’re on and the next day they’re off for a month.”  

Wall Street ends higher as markets eye easing of trade tensions

Wall Street ends higher as markets eye easing of trade tensions

By Johann M Cherian, Sukriti Gupta and Chibuike Oguh

Wed March 5, 2025 4:40 PM

It was the opposite trend from Monday. Today all three indexes were straddling break-even, then suddenly went through the roof right around noon, which is likely when Trump announced the delay on car tariffs for another month. This market was just looking for a hint of good news, any kind of good news, about easing tariffs to jump right back on the “buy” bandwagon, both tech and industrials zooming to big middle 3-digit gains.  

Nasdaq nears correction territory dragged down by trade tensions

Nasdaq nears correction territory dragged down by trade tensions

By Chibuike Oguh, Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

Tue March 4, 2025 4:36 PM

For the second day in a row the three indexes were in freefall with the Dow, like yesterday, losing almost 700 points. The tariffs are contributing for sure but also concerns about valuations being way elevated and the inflation picture looking dour. The Nasdaq came very close to 10% correction territory today and the VIX rose to its highest since December 20. But the newly assigned tariffs are definitely on the front burner.  

Wall St closes lower as Trump sets 25% tariffs, manufacturing data dips

Wall St closes lower as Trump sets 25% tariffs, manufacturing data dips

By Johann M Cherian, Sukriti Gupta and Chibuike Oguh

Mon March 3, 2025 4:15 PM

All three indexes were more or less sputtering along the break-even line in the morning, probably sitting on the sidelines waiting for the next event to unfold. Then at 12:30 p.m. all hell broke loose and all three indexes fell right through the flow with major enormous 3-digit losses. It was likely at 12:30 that Trump made the announcement that the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada would take effect tomorrow.  

Wall Street ends higher after Zelenskiy and Trump clash

Wall Street ends higher after Zelenskiy and Trump clash

By Noel Randewich

Fri February 28, 2025 4:18 PM

The headline is more than a little misleading, implying that the market actually liked the big clash in the Oval Office this afternoon. But a closer look at the details reveals that the clash was not the reason the market rose. In fact, all three indexes fell into the red immediately following the meeting. Then investors took a few deep breaths and optimism reemerged that there ultimately would be a deal to end the war in Ukraine.  

S&P 500 ends down as Nvidia tumbles following report

S&P 500 ends down as Nvidia tumbles following report

By Noel Randewich and Johann M Cherian

Thu February 27, 2025 6:59 PM

There’s just a whole lot of confusion and uncertainty out there. There was a big mystery yesterday why Nvidia’s stock got such a big boost when they had not yet turned in their Q4, a report widely expected to be disappointing. And today, with the report front and center, though earnings were quite respectable they were not of the stellar nature of past quarters and years so Nvidia had a dramatic fall of 8.5% more than wiping out yesterday’s boost, and all of tech followed suit. Unemployment claims came in higher than expected which also fueled uncertainty about the world’s greatest economy beginning to sputter.  

S&P 500 ends barely changed; Nvidia shares up after the bell

S&P 500 ends barely changed; Nvidia shares up after the bell

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Wed February 26, 2025 5:06 PM

It’s another Wall Street mystery. The market did not have high hopes for Nvidia today so tech’s sell off continued yesterday. But despite the fact that Nvidia’s report did not come in until after the closing bell – and the report was indeed positive -- Nvidia’s stock still shot up a whopping 3.7% and the overall chip index up 2.1%. The Nasdaq finally got its big boost, up some 250 points by noon and the S&P enjoyed a similar morning rally. Then hopes were dashed and all the indexes declined dramatically all afternoon, particularly the Dow, ending the day 3-digits in the red and the S&P and Nasdaq ending in the black but much reduced from the morning.  

Wall Street ends mixed in the face of mounting uncertainties

Wall Street ends mixed in the face of mounting uncertainties

By Stephen Culp

Tue February 25, 2025 4:23 PM

It was another very choppy day as uncertainties mounted and, as nerves go, the Dow benefitted up some 160 points while tech suffered, the Nasdaq down 260. The S&P and Nasdaq both touched one-month lows as well as suffering four consecutive sessions in the red. Today’s consumer confidence data spooked everyone as it confirmed that Joe Citizen expected the economy and inflation to get worse under Trump’s policies and small businesses cutting back on capital expenditures in direct proportion to the rise in uncertainty. The U of M confidence index plummeted from over 85 in November to under 65 now as well as an 11.3% plunge in near-term expectations.  

Nasdaq, S&P 500 fall as AI caution weighs on tech, Nvidia results in focus

Nasdaq, S&P 500 fall as AI caution weighs on tech, Nvidia results in focus

By Sinéad Carew and Johann M Cherian

Mon February 24, 2025 4:38 PM

Thankfully, the Great Selloff, except for the Nasdaq did not continue into Day 3. The Dow was up some 270 points as late as 2 pm. But volatility is still very much in play. Tech is still feeling the trauma of both DeepSeek and the rate cut path as well as the tug of war between slowing growth and inflation. Which will create the bigger problem? The rest of the market continues to digest the Walmart scare with investors anxiously awaiting Friday’s CPE.  

Wall Street ends sharply lower on mounting concerns over economy, tariffs

Wall Street ends sharply lower on mounting concerns over economy, tariffs

By Stephen Culp

Fri February 21, 2025 7:56 PM

Whoa! Speak of Black Friday! There was a lot of competition today for worst news! Was it L.A. mayor fires fire chief? Or Trump fires the black Chair of the JCS? Or that the stock market has had three terrible days in a row! Today even the S&P registered a 3-digit loss and the Dow was down a whopping 748 points notching its biggest one-week decline since October and the S&P its biggest one-day drop since December.  

Wall St ends lower as weak Walmart guidance prompts consumer demand worries

Wall St ends lower as weak Walmart guidance prompts consumer demand worries

By Stephen Culp

Thu February 20, 2025 4:21 PM

Walmart turned the world upside down today when it announced a downbeat forecast due to tariffs, which in turn trashed their stock price to the tune of a whopping 6.5% one-day loss which then in turn infected the rest of the market. As Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, is regarded as the bulwark for consumer spending, this sent everyone to the exits, especially the blue-chip Dow suffering a 450 point loss. It is yet one more indication of the feared damage the Trump tariffs may do to the overall economy.  

S&P 500 edges to record closing high as Fed minutes parsed

S&P 500 edges to record closing high as Fed minutes parsed

By Stephen Culp

Wed February 19, 2025 4:19 PM

All three indexes started the day well into the red, the Dow down some 250 points by 1 pm but then all rebounding to modest gains by close. As investors continue to parse Fed minutes, on the minus side there is the scenario of a coming economic slowdown. On the plus side this could mean more rate cuts sooner. Then there is the question of the coming reciprocal tariffs. The glass-half-full people see them as a bargaining chip, more bark than bite. The glass-half-empty people see them as sparking a global trade war.  

S&P 500 ekes out all-time closing high as Fed minutes eyed

S&P 500 ekes out all-time closing high as Fed minutes eyed

By Stephen Culp

Tue February 18, 2025 5:01 PM

There’s a whole lot going on this week with all the indexes up and down quite a lot, the Dow down over 200 as late as 2:30 pm, but then all three closing near break-even as “wait-and-see” became the theme of the day. The Fed minutes come out on Wednesday but the Fed today has reiterated its position of keeping rates steady. Retails sales comes later in the week. Q4 is in its final stretch with 383 companies reporting and 74% of them beating estimates.  

Wall Street ends mixed; Nvidia lifts Nasdaq

Wall Street ends mixed; Nvidia lifts Nasdaq

By Noel Randewich and Sukriti Gupta

Fri February 14, 2025 4:20 PM

It was a shot straight down on industrials with the Dow suffering yet another 3-digit loss while tech had a more haphazard day with the S&P barely reaching break-even but the Nasdaq had a better time boosted by a 2.6% upsurge in Nvidia as well as 1.3% from Apple. The good news was a drop in retail sales of more than 1% over December which might bolster the case for rate cuts, always a boost for tech.  

Wall Street ends higher after Trump unveils tariff plan

Wall Street ends higher after Trump unveils tariff plan

By Noel Randewich and Sukriti Gupta

Thu February 13, 2025 4:13 PM

Yesterday the three indexes were sunk by a less than glowing CPI report. Today the PPI and PCE reports, though not exactly glowing, were at least much closer in line with expectations and that triggered some relief in confidence and spurred another day of 3-digit gains. Trump’s announcement today of reciprocal tariffs provided a little more clarity about policy and that also provided some relief and more buying. However, the bottom line remains as expressed by today’s expert, “Investors were also preparing for kind of an alarmingly high inflation number, based on tariffs.” Volume came in very close to the 15.0 billion average at 15.3 billion. 

DJ: 44,368.56  -225.09       NAS: 19,649.95  +6.09        S&P: 6,051.97  -16.53         2/12

DJ: 44,711.43    +342.87    NAS: 19,945.64  +295.69    S&P: 6,115.07  +63.10        2/13

Thu 2-13-25 4:13 pm Wall Street ends higher after Trump unveils tariff plan | Reuters