Stock Market: Investors gain Rs 22.12 lakh crore in 5 days as Sensex zooms 3076 points or 4%#StockMarket https://t.co/q4E0QUcjZd
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) March 22, 2025
The stock market saw modest gains today, ending a four-week losing streak spurred by trade policy turmoil, recession fears, and a decline in megacap tech shares. The S&P 500 added 0.08%, closing the day at 5,667.56. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.08% to settle at 41,985.35, while the Nasdaq Composite moved up 0.52% to 17,784.05.
#MarketAlert | US: S&P 500 snaps 4-week losing streak, Dow Jones up 0.1%, Nasdaq up 0.5%#UnitedStates #DowJones #Nasdaq pic.twitter.com/t7G8TmAMZp
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) March 22, 2025
For the week, the S&P 500 registered a 0.5% increase, the Nasdaq rose 0.2%, and the Dow jumped by 1.2%. Today was a volatile session due to “quadruple witching,” a term referring to the simultaneous expiration of stock options, index futures, index options, and single-stock futures. President Trump’s looming tariffs remained a significant concern, causing market turbulence.
Recent spike in 6-month capex expectations was quite short-lived per @philadelphiafed Manufacturing Index … confidence has receded sharply over past few months pic.twitter.com/P11PYBWPK7
— Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) March 21, 2025
Simplify Asset Management’s chief strategist Michael Green noted the increasing uncertainty and its impact on corporate planning and capital spending. Notably, two economic indicators showed weakness. General Electric fell 6.5% after slashing its earnings outlook due to weakness in the U.S. industrial economy.
Nike’s shares dropped over 5% following an announcement that tariffs and declining consumer confidence would affect its profit expectations. Despite recent downturns, the Federal Reserve indicated it might cut rates twice this year, providing some relief.
s&p 500 breaks losing streak
New orders (blue) and employment (orange) components in @philadelphiafed Manufacturing Index have been going opposite directions of late, with former falling sharply and latter moving up pic.twitter.com/UPQYCUxQAQ
— Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) March 21, 2025
This announcement led to a 1% rally in the S&P 500 earlier this week. Verdence Capital Advisors’ Megan Horneman highlighted ongoing uncertainties past President Trump’s tariff deadline of April 2. Horneman predicted continued market volatility throughout 2025 but was optimistic about long-term prospects, suggesting that the administration’s current policies would pave the way for further gains beyond this year.
Barclays advised caution, stating that significant stock market upside is unlikely until there is clarity on tariffs likely to materialize by April 2. Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays, pointed out that President Trump’s characterization of the tariff deadlines as a “liberation day” adds to the downside risks. The technology sector performed poorly this week, down approximately 0.8%, marking its fifth consecutive weekly loss.
It is down nearly 14% from its 52-week high. Major losses were seen in consulting firms and chipmakers, contributing to the overall decline. Tesla stood out by potentially marking its ninth straight week of losses despite a minor rally today, down about 1% for the week.
This represents a nearly 39% decline this year, partly attributed to CEO Elon Musk’s foray into politics. As next week approaches, all eyes are on the pending tariffs set for April 2. Investors remain cautious, with expectations of continued volatility until more definitive economic policies are established.