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

Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures climb with PPI inflation looming after hot CPI

Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures climb with PPI inflation looming after hot CPI

Wed, February 12, 2025 at 7:56 PM EST

It is the rare case that sometimes there is no daily market report to be found anywhere. I gave up on the Wall Street Journal years ago when it stopped publishing its concise column on daily market moves, leaving one to read the entire paper to piece the whole puzzle together, and who has time for that? I’ve instead been using Reuters for years but today, no deal. Yahoo can sometimes be an alternate but, again, today not, not except for just the headline. It says “Stock market today” but it wasn’t really. So all I have today is a headline to share and the basic index data from the Journal website.  The bottom line: CPI came in hotter than expected, in fact the hottest in 18 months, so the market went into a dive. Hopefully, better reporting tomorrow. 

DJ: 44,593.65  +123.24      NAS: 19,643.86  -70.41       S&P: 6,068.50  +2.06          2/11

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

Wall Street ends mixed as Coca-Cola gains and Tesla drops

Wall Street ends mixed as Coca-Cola gains and Tesla drops

By Noel Randewich and Sukriti Gupta

Tue February 11, 2025 5:22 PM

Seesaw action was evident on all three indexes today but, unlike Monday, Tuesday saw tech mostly in the red and industrials mostly in the black with the Dow posting a respectable 3-digit gain, the S&P broke even coming off a 24 point loss and the Nasdaq recovered halfway from a 135 point loss. The key factors in all this volatility were the CPI data due tomorrow which will give the Fed an updated inflation picture and investors parsing the next rate cuts.  

Wall Street ends higher on AI strength; steelmakers climb on Trump tariff threat

Wall Street ends higher on AI strength; steelmakers climb on Trump tariff threat

By Noel Randewich and Shashwat Chauhan

Mon February 10, 2025 7:35 PM

Tech shot straight up right out the gate and stayed up the rest of the day while industrials went through a seesaw motion but still ended the day with respectable gains, all quite the opposite of Friday’s action though not quite enough to overcome the prior session’s losses. The tariff threat is what brought the market down on Friday and, ironically, a new tariff announcement today on aluminum and steel boosted the market.  

Wall Street closes lower on trade war escalation, weak data

Wall Street closes lower on trade war escalation, weak data

By Abigail Summerville and Shashwat Chauhan

Fri February 7, 2025 4:44 PM

After a very brief and modest rally that lasted only ½ hour (the Dow at +110 at 10 a.m.), all three indexes quickly went downhill and it was a straight shot down all day with big 3-digit losses all around, all three breaking a 3-week winning streak. The much awaited jobs report showed 598,000 fewer jobs vs a forecast of 818,000 and the lowest consumer sentiment numbers in seven months reflects a fear of surging inflation, which consumers expect to rocket to 4.3% this year.  

Wall Street ends mixed in choppy trading; Amazon, jobs report in focus

Wall Street ends mixed in choppy trading; Amazon, jobs report in focus

By Abigail Summerville and Sukriti Gupta

Thu February 6, 2025 6:42 PM

Tariffs went on the backburner and earnings came up front as the Dow took a dive while the Nasdaq and S&P rose. Eyes are on Amazon’s Q4 which came in after hours beating revenue forecasts but below sales in cloud computing. Eli Lilly, Tapestry, and Philip Morris all beat expectations. The good news was an increase in unemployment benefits, which goes along with the lower job openings reported Tuesday, and increased optimism about a June rate cut.  

Wall St ends higher as investors digest earnings, rate cut prospects

Wall St ends higher as investors digest earnings, rate cut prospects

By Abigail Summerville and Shashwat Chauhan

Wed February 5, 2025 5:13 PM

All the indexes started in the red, the Nasdaq deeply in the red about 150 points, but began recovering almost immediately reaching break-even around noon. Though the Nasdaq managed to close just barely in the black, both the S&P and Dow did considerably better, the Dow even closing with a respectable 3-digit gain. The earlier drop was due to a disappointing Google Q4 and the comeback attributed to a gradual recovery of the AI sector after last week’s DeepSeek shock, particularly with Nvidia which boosted up 5.4%.  

Wall Street rises on US-China trade optimism, energy boost

Wall Street rises on US-China trade optimism, energy boost

By Abigail Summerville and Sukriti Gupta

Tue February 4, 2025 4:43 PM

The recovery that started yesterday, though it never did reach break-even, continued in earnest today with all three indexes on a steady upward climb with the Dow and Nasdaq notching 3-digit gains, more than making up Monday’s losses. With the tariffs for Mexico and Canada now on pause, investors took hope today that a similar deal will also be reached with China, though Trump has indicated he is in no hurry to negotiate with Xi.  

Wall Street closes down, pares losses after Trump delays Mexico tariffs

Wall Street closes down, pares losses after Trump delays Mexico tariffs

By Abigail Summerville and Shashwat Chauhan

Mon February 3, 2025 5:34 PM

With the dreaded tariffs due to hit at midnight tonight, the markets plummeted big time, the Dow down over 700 points by 10:30, the Nasdaq an equally disastrous 500 points. It must have been right at 10:30 that Trump made the announcement that the tariffs on Canada and Mexico anyway would be paused for a month as our two neighbors agreed to beef up border enforcement. Almost immediately, there was a huge buy back of all the equities that had been sold earlier as investors had made a mad rush into safe haven assets.  

Wall St ends lower as White House says Trump to implement tariffs

Wall St ends lower as White House says Trump to implement tariffs

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Fri January 31, 2025 5:04 PM

Though there was a little backpedaling on tariffs yesterday, they were back in the news full force today. As the tariffs were up starting Saturday, the market was down and it was no surprise that the sectors hardest hit were electronics and energy, the two industries expected to be most impacted by tariffs. All the indexes were rather handsomely in the black during the morning until about 1:00 p.m., the Nasdaq up some 300 points. It was precisely at that hour that Trump must have announced that the tariffs were on because at that precise hour, all three indexes dropped like a rock.  

Indexes end up as investors weigh earnings; tariff talk a damper

Indexes end up as investors weigh earnings; tariff talk a damper

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Thu January 30, 2025 6:51 PM

After a tepid beginning to the day, triggered mostly by Microsoft announcing a weaker forecast after yesterday’s strong Q4, all the indexes got a boost right around 12:30 brought on by a stack of Q4 reports including Meta and IBM beating forecasts. More than 70% of reporting S&P companies have now beaten forecasts. Investors are also now looking the other way from Tesla’s disappointing Q4 after today’s Musk comments about future Tesla plans helped boost that stock and the market.  

US stocks dip, dollar steady as traders digest Fed rate pause, tech earnings

US stocks dip, dollar steady as traders digest Fed rate pause, tech earnings

By Lawrence Delevingne and Marc Jones

Wed January 29, 2025 4:59 PM

Although it’s long been expected that the Fed would keep rates steady this month, the one thing the Fed did differently today was omitting the usual reassuring comments about inflation being on the right path or giving a potential timeline for the next cut. Instead it was a simple announcement of no change and that was enough to send all three indexes into a tailspin, the Dow down over 370 points by 2:30 which seemed to be the time that Microsoft turned in its good Q4 report which in turn sent the market into a rebound.   

Nasdaq leads Wall St higher, tech shares recover from Monday's sell-off

Nasdaq leads Wall St higher, tech shares recover from Monday's sell-off

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Tue January 28, 2025 6:44 PM

The bargain hunters were out in force from the outset today with both tech and Nvidia recapturing more than half of yesterday’s losses, though the overall chip index regained only 1.1%, a far cry from the 9.2% lost yesterday. The S&P tech sector had its biggest daily percentage gain since July. The was of course the typical bounceback that is always expected after a day of panic so yesterday’s expert was quite correct.  

Nasdaq drops 3% as China's DeepSeek AI model hits tech shares

Nasdaq drops 3% as China's DeepSeek AI model hits tech shares

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Mon January 27, 2025 5:25 PM

Tech plummeted like a rock and there was a flight to the more conventional industrials as the Chinese firm DeepSeek made the troubling announcement, challenging U.S. and Nvidia dominance, that they had built a bigger, better mousetrap in AI, sending Nvidia into the biggest one-day loss in history, 17%, and sending all the other sectors down with it. But to put things in perspective, though it was the biggest one-day loss, it’s only been since September that Nvidia had its other “biggest” one-day loss. The S&P also suffered its biggest one-day loss but only since Jan 10^th.  The overall chip index fared much worse registering its biggest one-day loss, a whopping 9.2%, in nearly five years.  

Wall St slips with mixed data and earnings ahead of Fed week

Wall St slips with mixed data and earnings ahead of Fed week

By Sinéad Carew and Johann M Cherian

Fri January 24, 2025 4:37 PM

A bag of mixed data including business activity slowing to a nine-month low contrasted with increased hiring which would only support the Fed’s position to slow the pace of rate cuts, all contributed to sending investors into cautionary mode and fence-sitting awaiting next week’s abundant economic news and monthly Fed meeting. All three indexes took a shot down after about the noon hour and going down all afternoon to close with losses, the Dow down 3-digits, the Nasdaq almost that far.  

S&P 500 notches closing record with focus on Trump comments, earnings

S&P 500 notches closing record with focus on Trump comments, earnings

By Sinéad Carew and Johann M Cherian

Fri January 23, 2025 4:53 PM

Trump’s comments today demanding that OPEC lower oil prices and that the Fed continue more rate cuts injected a megadose of optimism into the markets shooting the Dow up to a mid-3-digit gain and the S&P to another record high. This is contrasted however with the announcement of 25% tariffs going into effect February 1 on Canada, Mexico and China. Since we get so much of our oil comes from Canada, how investors think the price of oil is coming down falls somewhere in the realm of wishful thinking.  

S&P 500 hits record high with boost from Netflix results, AI investment plan

S&P 500 hits record high with boost from Netflix results, AI investment plan

By Sinéad Carew and Johann M Cherian

Thu January 22, 2025 6:38 PM

Elon Musk aside who says it cannot happen, Trump’s announcement of a $300B investment in AI shot the whole tech index straight up again, the chip index especially up 1.7%. The Dow also rode on these coattails, though not as much as in previous sessions as stated by today’s expert, “It’s a story of big tech and everything else is hanging in there.” But the euphoria continues, triggered Monday by the news that the new administration’s tariff policies would likely be far less draconian than feared, even if there is still considerable concern about what may be coming February 1^st.  

Wall Street ends higher with hopes for measured US trade policy

Wall Street ends higher with hopes for measured US trade policy

By Sinéad Carew and Johann M Cherian

Tue January 21, 2025 6:09 PM

It was a second straight day of all the indexes shooting straight up right out the gate and staying there all day, mostly on big relief that tariffs were not included among the 200+ executive orders Trump signed since yesterday. The 47^th president is now hinting that he may merely impose duties on Canadian and Mexican goods rather than the much feared blanket tariffs and it remains the markets’ high hopes that the new president will indeed approach the issue, rather than issuing tariffs, instead using the mere threat as a negotiating tactic.  

Stocks rally to close out strong week, await Trump policies

Stocks rally to close out strong week, await Trump policies

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Fri January 17, 2025 4:37 PM

After yet another day of positive data showing the strength and resilience of the economy, investors today decided it was time to celebrate on this final market day before Trump begins his second administration. Positive housing news combined with continued good corporate earnings reports plus Fed Governor Waller’s statement yesterday that, given the fact that inflation is expected to continue easing, rate cuts could come sooner and faster after all, for the first time since the rate cut scare started, the odds of a June cut are now above 50%.  

Wall Street slips after rally as earnings, data eyed

Wall Street slips after rally as earnings, data eyed

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Thu January 16, 2025 5:16 PM

Yesterday’s ebullience was replaced by today’s caution and continuing uncertainty as the indexes once again swung back and forth between black and red several times, but only modestly so. The Nasdaq took a slightly bigger hit being in the red virtually all day and closing down 3-digits, though all of the losses were just a small fraction of yesterday’s gains. So it was a day to take breath despite a considerable amount of good news which included the big banks, which are the market’s bellwether, still coming in with strong earnings.  

Wall St surges as inflation data, bank earnings fuel rally

Wall St surges as inflation data, bank earnings fuel rally

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Wed January 15, 2025 4:53 PM

Yesterday’s PPI wasn’t enough to change the needle but today’s CPI sure as heck was. It didn’t seem to matter that the numbers still came in with its highest increase in nine months, but still lower than expected. The fact that it wasn’t on fire triggered an enormous rally at the outset that continued all day with all three indexes enjoying 3-digit gains, the biggest in two months, the Dow up over 700. The Fed Beige Book showed economic activity increased slightly which immediately increased the odds for a June rate.  

S&P 500 edges higher, Nasdaq dips in choppy session as inflation data eyed

S&P 500 edges higher, Nasdaq dips in choppy session as inflation data eyed

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Tue January 14, 2025 7:08 PM

In a very choppy session swinging back and forth between black and red at least four times, investors sit on pins and needles waiting for this week’s inflation data, given a bit of a reprieve today with PPI coming in a little lower than expected but not low enough to move the needle on rate cut expectations which remain today at a 50% chance of a ¼ point rate cut no earlier than June, and nothing after that. With the much more closely watched CPI and Beige Book coming in starting tomorrow, reevaluations may be coming then. Or more likely, more of the same.  

Nasdaq closes lower, S&P 500 up slightly as US yields stay elevated

Nasdaq closes lower, S&P 500 up slightly as US yields stay elevated

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Mon January 13, 2025 5:14 PM

The resilient economy combined with rising prices continues to push up bond yields and lower hopes for more rate cuts which are today down to just one ¼ point cut this year, perhaps in June, and even that at just 53%. Both the Nasdaq and S&P were in the red all day, all starting well into the red, the Nasdaq down some 330 points in the morning, though rising all day and recovering to only modest losses by close, the S&P even slightly above break-even.  

Treasury yields rise, stock falls pressured by stronger-than-expected US jobs data

Treasury yields rise, stock falls pressured by stronger-than-expected US jobs data

By Chibuike Oguh and Amanda Cooper

Fri January 10, 2025 5:37 PM

It was another good news = bad news day as way above forecasted job numbers threw a very wet blanket on rate cut expectations and caused all the indexes to severely plunge at the outset and stay down all day, both the Dow and Nasdaq into serious 3-digit losses.  It was yet another day when investors were far less interested in good economic news and much more in Fed action. The forecast for the next cut has now been moved from May to June (at earliest) added to doubts that there will another one before year-end.  

Wall Street little changed as investors assess inflation path

Wall Street little changed as investors assess inflation path

By Johann M Cherian, Sukriti Gupta and Carolina Mandl

Wed January 8, 2025 4:32 PM

The market became truly schizophrenic today with severe seesaw action as the indexes bounced back and forth between black and red several times, the Dow itself swinging back and forth between a -200 and +100 all day. The inciting incidents were two conflicting employment reports, one saying payrolls were down, the other saying new jobless claims were also down – so which one do you believe? The other conflict was Trump floating the idea of declaring a national emergency on inflation to enable him to order tariffs that, ironically, are widely feared to spark more inflation.  

Wall Street ends lower as inflation fears mount

Wall Street ends lower as inflation fears mount

By Johann M Cherian, Sukriti Gupta and Carolina Mandl

Tue January 7, 2025 4:34 PM

It was a shot straight down on all the indexes, particularly tech, as inflation concerns came back full force on the front burner again. Not only are Trump’s inflationary tariffs once again front and center after a very brief hiatus yesterday, but unexpected data showing increased job openings and accelerating services activity put a damper on the market’s consensus the economy was slowing down and we were in the final inning on the inflation fight.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq end higher, driven by tech stocks

S&P 500, Nasdaq end higher, driven by tech stocks

By Sruthi Shankar, Johann M Cherian and Carolina Mandl

Mon January 6, 2025 4:32 PM

For the first day of the first full week of the New Year, stocks soared once again as they did on the final day of the first week last Friday. Today it was not so much profit-taking as a newspaper report that allayed the market’s greatest fear about Trump and that is the tariffs driving up inflation. The report said that proposed tariffs would not be nearly as severe as previously stated and, though Trump wasted no time repudiating the voracity of the report and that he had no intention of watering down his plans, the market chose to believe the report.  

Wall Street ends sharply higher with assist from tech; investors eye Trump policies

Wall Street ends sharply higher with assist from tech; investors eye Trump policies

By Stephen Culp

Fri January 3, 2025 4:16 PM

Well, the indexes were way up right at open and stayed that way all day. You could say that Santa Claus finally showed up on the final day of the legendary rally. Or you could say that investors finally decided that prices had gone low enough so went on some bargain hunting. One could also say that, despite the lingering fears of inflation-stoking tariffs, the markets decided on this final day to instead focus on pro-business policies expected from a Trump administration.  

Stocks stumble as Tesla weighs, dollar hits 2-yr high

Stocks stumble as Tesla weighs, dollar hits 2-yr high

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Thu January 2, 2025 4:35 PM

All three indexes enjoyed a very nice bump in the morning, the Dow up over 350 points, lending hope that the Santa Claus rally may still be in play. But those hopes were dashed as early 10 a.m. when they all started downhill again, reaching break-even around noon and diving into the red the rest of the session. The S&P and Nasdaq saw their 5^th straight day of declines, their longest stretch since April. And despite unemployment benefits dropping to their lowest in two years, and well below forecast, showing the economy continues to be resilient and strong, consumer discretionary, the main engine of this economy, fell.