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It was a historic week for Wall Street - but not in a good way.
President Donald Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs announcement on "Liberation Day" resulted in the biggest rout in U.S. stocks since the market crash of COVID-19 in 2020.
The imposition of the steepest American trade barriers in over a century has hammered sentiment across the globe. U.S. growth expectations have rapidly soured, and recession odds have spiked.
Traders were caught off guard by the extent of Trump's tariffs, and responded by moving out of equities and into safe havens such as the dollar and bonds.
The benchmark S&P 500 index (SP500) cratered more than -9% this week alone, and now sits deep in correction territory after having fallen -17.4% from its most recent record close. The blue-chip Dow (DJI) also slipped into correction, ending the week -14.9% from its most recent record close.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) fared even worse, slumping into bear market territory with a -22.7% retreat from its most recent record close.
Investors were hoping that Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell would calm nerves at an event on Friday. However, the central bank chief said that the economic impact of tariffs was likely to be larger than expected, adding that the Fed was in no hurry to act on interest rates and would wait and see how events play out.
There was a tiny bright spot this week in the form of an unexpectedly strong March nonfarm payrolls report. However, most economists said that the jobs report was likely a last hurrah.
For the week, the S&P (SP500) retreated -9.1%, while the Nasdaq (COMP:IND) slid -10%. The blue-chip Dow (DJI) fell -7.9%. Read a preview of next week's major events in Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch.
Seeking Alpha's Calls Of The Week
Strong Buy Rating For Rivian Automotive (RIVN): Trump Tariffs Silver Lining.
Here's Why Verizon Communications (VZ) Has Become A Top-Tier Prospect.
BP (BP) Double Upgrade: Strategic Reset, Activist Push, Valuation Discount.
Seabridge (SA): Incredible Value As Momentum Builds On Record Gold Rally.
Moving To Sidelines On Ulta Beauty (ULTA): The Bad, The Ugly, And The Good.
VICI Properties (VICI): Downgrade On Relative Mispricing, Concentration Risk.
Turning Neutral On S&P 500 (SPY): That Was Much Worse Than I Expected.
Dropbox (DBX) Likely Entered The Phase Of Continuous Revenue Decline.
Deutsche Bank (DB): Great Time To Cash Out As Upside Appears Limited.
Wolfspeed's (WOLF) No-Good, Terrible Friday May Just Be The Beginning.
Weekly Movement
U.S. Indices
Dow -7.9% to 38,315. S&P 500 -9.1% to 5,074. Nasdaq -10% to 15,588. Russell 2000 -9.7% to 1,827. CBOE Volatility Index +109.3% to 45.31.
S&P 500 Sectors
Consumer Staples -2.2%. Utilities -4.5%. Financials -10.3%. Telecom -8.4%. Healthcare -6.5%. Industrials -9.4%. Information Technology -11.4%. Materials -8.3%. Energy -14.1%. Consumer Discretionary -8%. Real Estate -5.4%.
World Indices
London -7% to 8,055. France -8.1% to 7,275. Germany -8.1% to 20,642. Japan -9% to 33,781. China -0.3% to 3,342. Hong Kong -2.5% to 22,850. India -2.7% to 75,365.
Commodities and Bonds
Crude Oil WTI -10.6% to $61.99/bbl. Gold -2.5% to $3,035.4/oz. Natural Gas -5.6% to 3.837. Ten-Year Bond Yield -0.2 bps to 3.999.
Forex and Cryptos
EUR/USD +1.18%. USD/JPY -1.94%. GBP/USD -0.37%. Bitcoin +1.2%. Litecoin -1.2%. Ethereum -0.8%. XRP -0.1%.
Top S&P 500 Gainers
Lamb Weston (LW) +9%. Dollar General (DG) +8%. Molina Healthcare (MOH) +7%. Ross Stores (ROST) +4%. The TJX Companies (TJX) +3%.
Top S&P 500 Losers
APA (APA) -27%. Micron Technology (MU) -27%. Microchip Technology (MCHP) -26%. Western Digital (WDC) -25%. GE HealthCare Technologies (GEHC) -24%.
Where will the markets be headed next week? Current trends and ideas? Add your thoughts to the comments section.
