“I have authorized a 90-day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.

Speaking with reporters later in the day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that reciprocal tariffs were a “successful negotiating strategy” while explaining that the 90-day pause actually means the return of the baseline 10% tariff rate.

Shortly after Trump’s announcement, the U.S. stocks embarked on a ferocious rally. The benchmark S&P 500 soared 9.52% or 474.13 points to close at 5,456.90. This was the biggest single-day gain for the index since 2008.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite recorded its second-biggest daily gain in history. It improved by 1,857.06 or 12.16% to close at 17,124.97 points.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped by 7.87% or 2,962.86 points and ended Wednesday’s session at 40,608.45.

Overall, more than 30 billion shares, worth $1.5 trillion, were traded on Wednesday, marking Wall Street’s record in the last 18 years of available data.

The post U.S. Stocks Bounce Back in a Big Way Thanks to 90-Day Pause on Tariffs appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The sell-off intensified on Wednesday after President Donald Trump introduced sweeping tariffs against major U.S. trade partners. It was further fueled on Friday after China responded with the introduction of 34% tariffs on all imports from the U.S.

The Dow Jones plunged by 5.50% or 2,231.07 points to close at 38,314.86. This was the first time ever that the index lost 1,500 points in back-to-back trading sessions. It is 7.41% down for the week and more than 14% down since its record high in December.

Nasdaq, on the other hand, lost 962.82 or 5.82% to end Friday’s session at 15,587.79. It slipped 8.55% for the week and has now lost roughly 23% from December’s all-time high. This puts it in the bear market territory, according to Wall Street’s definition.

The benchmark S&P 500 closed at 5,074.08 after a 322.44 or 5.97% dip. It is 8.21% down for the week and 17% down from February’s record.

Experts believe that the stock market is close to bottoming out but that the long-term consequences will be significant.

“While the market may be close to the bottom in the short-term, we are concerned about the impact of a global trade war on long-term economic growth,” Emily Bowersock Hill, the CEO of Bowersock Capital Partners, told CNBC in an interview.

The post Dow Jones Crashes More Than 2,200 Points, U.S. Stocks Endure Their Worst Week Since 2020 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Kostin initially set a 6,500-point target for the S&P 500 before reducing it to 6,200 points in early March. Now, he believes that the 5,700 points target is more appropriate, taking into consideration the increasing risk of recession as well as uncertainty caused by the changes to tariff policy.

Kostin also noted that the S&P 500 could sink much further in the trend of deteriorating growth outlook and investor confidence persists.

“If the growth outlook and investor confidence deteriorate even further, valuations could decline much more than we forecast,” Kostin wrote. “We continue to recommend investors watch for an improvement in the growth outlook, more asymmetry in market pricing, or depressed positioning before trying to trade a market bottom.”

Kostin’s target put the S&P 500 on track for marginal growth for the rest of 2025. The benchmark index closed at 5,580.94 points on Friday following a 112.37-point or 1.97% drop. It has been 4.90% down since the beginning of the year.

The post Goldman Sachs Lowers S&P 500 Target to 5,700 on Recession Risk and Tariff-Related Uncertainty appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Tech-heavy Nasdaq performed even better, rising by 1.22% or 212.35 points for a 17,648.45 close. However, it was insufficient to erase losses from the previous two days.

S&P 500 jumped by 0.49% or 27.23 points to close at 5,599.30. The benchmark index still remains close to 3% down since the beginning of the week.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 41,350.93 points after a slip of 0.20% or 82.55 points. It has now lost 3.4% since Monday morning.

Tech stocks have been leading the rebound, with Nvidia jumping by 6.4% and Tesla gaining 7.6%. Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta also recorded gains with Apple being the only member of Magnificient seven to end the day in the red.

After worries about the state of the U.S. economy prompted a broad sell-off in the past couple of days, investors received some encouraging news on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump made tweaks to his tariff policy changes and granted an exemption for U.S. automakers. Additionally, the Labor Department’s report showed that the inflation in February eased, coming below the expectations of economists.

The post Nasdaq and S&P 500 Close in the Green as Stocks Show Signs of Recovery appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Wilson, who serves as Chief U.S. Equity Strategist and Chief Investment Officer for Morgan Stanley, sees the S&P 500 tumbling down as low as 5,500 points in the near future. However, a turnaround in the second half of the year is likely and will put the S&P 500 on track to hit 6,500 by the end of 2025.

Wilson based his prediction on perceived lower fiscal spending and the effects that the recent tariff policy changes will have on corporate earnings. The S&P 500’s performance is expected to be volatile “as the market continues to contemplate these growth risks, which could get worse before they get better.”

The note also indicated that the S&P 500 could sink as much as 20% in case of recession, but that remains an unlikely scenario at the moment.

“We are not there, but things can change quickly and so it’s useful to know the downside in the bear case to manage one’s risk,” Wilson added.

S&P 500 plummeted by 3.32% last week, closing at 5,770.20 points. The benchmark index is down by 1.68% since the beginning of the year.

The post Morgan Stanley Strategist Predicts a 5% Slump for S&P 500 Amid Growth Risks appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to the news release from S&P Dow Jones Indices, the four companies will start trading on the S&P 500 on Monday, March 24. They will replace Borgwarner, Teleflex, Celanese, and FMC, which will move to the S&P SmallCap 600.

In order for the companies to qualify for the S&P 500, they need to fulfill several conditions including a market cap of at least $20.5 billion, while meeting standards of profitability, liquidity, and share-float.

DoorDash stock closed at $178.08 per share on Friday for a market cap of $73.97 billion. It then jumped by 6.13% in after-market trading to trade at $189.00.

Williams-Sonoma had a market cap of $23.19 billion after its shares closed at $188.41 per share. The stock increased to $191.61 per share in extended trading.

Expand Energy stock jumped by 2.21% in the after-hours to settle at $98.15 per share. Its latest close price of $96.03 per share gave the company a $22.19 billion market capitalization.

The shares of TKO Group closed at $143.73 per share on Friday with a market cap of $24.54 billion before seeing a 2.62% jump in extended trading.

The post DoorDash and Williams-Sonoma Set to Join S&P 500, Stocks Surge appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The S&P 500 closed at a record 6,129.58 points on Tuesday before improving by another 14.57 points or 0.24% on Wednesday for a 6,144.15 close. The index also cleared its intra-day record, reaching 6,146.80 at one point.

Nasdaq soared to 20,097.73 in the afternoon before sliding to a modest gain of 14.99 points or 0.07% to close at 20,056.25. Dow Jones jumped by 71.25 or 0.16% to end the day at 44,627.59 points.

Investors are still waiting to see the full impact of the new tariff regulation that includes a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminum into the United States. Additionally, the new administration announced a reciprocal tariffs policy that could become effective in April.

Additionally, the markets are digesting the minutes from the Fed’s January meeting, which were released on Wednesday. According to the release, Federal Open Market Committee officials are waiting for “further progress on inflation” before thinking about adjusting interest rates.

“Many participants noted that the Committee could hold the policy rate at a restrictive level if the economy remained strong and inflation remained elevated, while several remarked that policy could be eased if labor market conditions deteriorated, economic activity faltered, or inflation returned to 2 percent more quickly than anticipated,” the released noted.

The post S&P 500 Closes At All-Time High for Second Straight Day, Nasdaq and Dow Jones Also Record Gains appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Wall Street’s benchmark index S&P 500 was up by nearly 1%, trading above 6,100 and beating a prior record it hit back in December. It was also a good day for the Dow Jones Industrial Index, which gained 127 points, inching towards 44,200.

Several factors contributed to the S&P 500’s record-breaking boost, including the recent rise of the Netflix stock. Its shares jumped by 11% after the streaming giant’s strong quarterly performance, followed by an increase in prices for most of its service plans.

The launch of the $500 billion AI infrastructure venture “The Stargate Project” earlier this week also helped the S&P 500 soar. Oracle experienced a 7% rise, while Softbank’s US-listed shares added 10%. They’re two of the partners involved in Stargate, along with OpenAI and MGX. Three tech giants set to handle Stargate’s technology also experienced a boost –  Nvidia added 4.1%, Arm Holdings surged 14%, and Microsoft was up 3.9%.

The post S&P 500 Hits a Record High Due to Boost in Tech Stocks appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The CPI increased by 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the last month of 2024 compared to a 0.3% jump in November while putting the 12-month inflation at 2.9%. Economists predicted a 0.3% jump and 12-month inflation of 2.9%.

However, the core CPI, which excludes volatile prices of food and gas and is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, has been favorable and came below expectations. It saw a jump of 0.2% and came at an annual rate of 3.2%, while economists expected a 0.3% increase and an annual rate of 3.3%.

The CPI report had a positive effect on the stock market, which rebounded following a sluggish start of the week. Benchmark S&P 500 improved by 107 points or 1.83% to close at 5,949.91, blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced 703.27 points or 1.65% to close at 43,221.55, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared by 2.45% or 466.84  for a 19,511.23 points close. 

Experts believe that the CPI numbers won’t change the Fed’s intention to pause with rate cuts but should calm any concerns about interest rates going up.

“Today’s CPI may help the Fed feel a little more dovish. It won’t change expectations for a pause later this month, but it should curb some of the talk about the Fed potentially raising rates,” Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, told CNBC. “And judging by the market’s initial response, investors appeared to feel a sense of relief after a few months of stickier inflation readings.”

The post Consumer Price Index Rises in December, But Shows Encouraging Trend appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Benchmark S&P 500 lost 1.54% or 91.21 points to close at 5,827.04 and 0.7% down for the week. Tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at 19,161.63 after a 1.63% or 317.25 points dip, while blue-chip Dow Jones sank by 1.63% or 696.75 points for a 41,938.45 close on Friday. Nasdaq and Dow Jones are down by 0.6% and 1.1%, respectively, for the week.

The slump in the stock market was a direct result of Friday’s U.S. jobs report showing that the economy added 256,000 non-farm payrolls in December compared to 212,000 in the month prior and 155,000 expected by economists. Additionally, the unemployment rate slipped to 4.1% versus predictions of 4.25%.

“Good news for the economy but not for the markets, at least for now,” Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, told CNBC. “However, this unexpected gain relative to the consensus projection does not change our view that the labor market is likely to decelerate further in coming quarters.”

The strong labor market, as well as inflation concerns, will likely prompt the Fed to adopt a slower approach to future interest rate cuts. The expectation is that there will be two rate cuts this year and none before June.

The post S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq Plunge on Surprising U.S. Jobs Report appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

“I have authorized a 90-day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.

Speaking with reporters later in the day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that reciprocal tariffs were a “successful negotiating strategy” while explaining that the 90-day pause actually means the return of the baseline 10% tariff rate.

Shortly after Trump’s announcement, the U.S. stocks embarked on a ferocious rally. The benchmark S&P 500 soared 9.52% or 474.13 points to close at 5,456.90. This was the biggest single-day gain for the index since 2008.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite recorded its second-biggest daily gain in history. It improved by 1,857.06 or 12.16% to close at 17,124.97 points.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped by 7.87% or 2,962.86 points and ended Wednesday’s session at 40,608.45.

Overall, more than 30 billion shares, worth $1.5 trillion, were traded on Wednesday, marking Wall Street’s record in the last 18 years of available data.

The post U.S. Stocks Bounce Back in a Big Way Thanks to 90-Day Pause on Tariffs appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The sell-off intensified on Wednesday after President Donald Trump introduced sweeping tariffs against major U.S. trade partners. It was further fueled on Friday after China responded with the introduction of 34% tariffs on all imports from the U.S.

The Dow Jones plunged by 5.50% or 2,231.07 points to close at 38,314.86. This was the first time ever that the index lost 1,500 points in back-to-back trading sessions. It is 7.41% down for the week and more than 14% down since its record high in December.

Nasdaq, on the other hand, lost 962.82 or 5.82% to end Friday’s session at 15,587.79. It slipped 8.55% for the week and has now lost roughly 23% from December’s all-time high. This puts it in the bear market territory, according to Wall Street’s definition.

The benchmark S&P 500 closed at 5,074.08 after a 322.44 or 5.97% dip. It is 8.21% down for the week and 17% down from February’s record.

Experts believe that the stock market is close to bottoming out but that the long-term consequences will be significant.

“While the market may be close to the bottom in the short-term, we are concerned about the impact of a global trade war on long-term economic growth,” Emily Bowersock Hill, the CEO of Bowersock Capital Partners, told CNBC in an interview.

The post Dow Jones Crashes More Than 2,200 Points, U.S. Stocks Endure Their Worst Week Since 2020 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Kostin initially set a 6,500-point target for the S&P 500 before reducing it to 6,200 points in early March. Now, he believes that the 5,700 points target is more appropriate, taking into consideration the increasing risk of recession as well as uncertainty caused by the changes to tariff policy.

Kostin also noted that the S&P 500 could sink much further in the trend of deteriorating growth outlook and investor confidence persists.

“If the growth outlook and investor confidence deteriorate even further, valuations could decline much more than we forecast,” Kostin wrote. “We continue to recommend investors watch for an improvement in the growth outlook, more asymmetry in market pricing, or depressed positioning before trying to trade a market bottom.”

Kostin’s target put the S&P 500 on track for marginal growth for the rest of 2025. The benchmark index closed at 5,580.94 points on Friday following a 112.37-point or 1.97% drop. It has been 4.90% down since the beginning of the year.

The post Goldman Sachs Lowers S&P 500 Target to 5,700 on Recession Risk and Tariff-Related Uncertainty appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Tech-heavy Nasdaq performed even better, rising by 1.22% or 212.35 points for a 17,648.45 close. However, it was insufficient to erase losses from the previous two days.

S&P 500 jumped by 0.49% or 27.23 points to close at 5,599.30. The benchmark index still remains close to 3% down since the beginning of the week.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 41,350.93 points after a slip of 0.20% or 82.55 points. It has now lost 3.4% since Monday morning.

Tech stocks have been leading the rebound, with Nvidia jumping by 6.4% and Tesla gaining 7.6%. Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta also recorded gains with Apple being the only member of Magnificient seven to end the day in the red.

After worries about the state of the U.S. economy prompted a broad sell-off in the past couple of days, investors received some encouraging news on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump made tweaks to his tariff policy changes and granted an exemption for U.S. automakers. Additionally, the Labor Department’s report showed that the inflation in February eased, coming below the expectations of economists.

The post Nasdaq and S&P 500 Close in the Green as Stocks Show Signs of Recovery appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Wilson, who serves as Chief U.S. Equity Strategist and Chief Investment Officer for Morgan Stanley, sees the S&P 500 tumbling down as low as 5,500 points in the near future. However, a turnaround in the second half of the year is likely and will put the S&P 500 on track to hit 6,500 by the end of 2025.

Wilson based his prediction on perceived lower fiscal spending and the effects that the recent tariff policy changes will have on corporate earnings. The S&P 500’s performance is expected to be volatile “as the market continues to contemplate these growth risks, which could get worse before they get better.”

The note also indicated that the S&P 500 could sink as much as 20% in case of recession, but that remains an unlikely scenario at the moment.

“We are not there, but things can change quickly and so it’s useful to know the downside in the bear case to manage one’s risk,” Wilson added.

S&P 500 plummeted by 3.32% last week, closing at 5,770.20 points. The benchmark index is down by 1.68% since the beginning of the year.

The post Morgan Stanley Strategist Predicts a 5% Slump for S&P 500 Amid Growth Risks appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to the news release from S&P Dow Jones Indices, the four companies will start trading on the S&P 500 on Monday, March 24. They will replace Borgwarner, Teleflex, Celanese, and FMC, which will move to the S&P SmallCap 600.

In order for the companies to qualify for the S&P 500, they need to fulfill several conditions including a market cap of at least $20.5 billion, while meeting standards of profitability, liquidity, and share-float.

DoorDash stock closed at $178.08 per share on Friday for a market cap of $73.97 billion. It then jumped by 6.13% in after-market trading to trade at $189.00.

Williams-Sonoma had a market cap of $23.19 billion after its shares closed at $188.41 per share. The stock increased to $191.61 per share in extended trading.

Expand Energy stock jumped by 2.21% in the after-hours to settle at $98.15 per share. Its latest close price of $96.03 per share gave the company a $22.19 billion market capitalization.

The shares of TKO Group closed at $143.73 per share on Friday with a market cap of $24.54 billion before seeing a 2.62% jump in extended trading.

The post DoorDash and Williams-Sonoma Set to Join S&P 500, Stocks Surge appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The S&P 500 closed at a record 6,129.58 points on Tuesday before improving by another 14.57 points or 0.24% on Wednesday for a 6,144.15 close. The index also cleared its intra-day record, reaching 6,146.80 at one point.

Nasdaq soared to 20,097.73 in the afternoon before sliding to a modest gain of 14.99 points or 0.07% to close at 20,056.25. Dow Jones jumped by 71.25 or 0.16% to end the day at 44,627.59 points.

Investors are still waiting to see the full impact of the new tariff regulation that includes a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminum into the United States. Additionally, the new administration announced a reciprocal tariffs policy that could become effective in April.

Additionally, the markets are digesting the minutes from the Fed’s January meeting, which were released on Wednesday. According to the release, Federal Open Market Committee officials are waiting for “further progress on inflation” before thinking about adjusting interest rates.

“Many participants noted that the Committee could hold the policy rate at a restrictive level if the economy remained strong and inflation remained elevated, while several remarked that policy could be eased if labor market conditions deteriorated, economic activity faltered, or inflation returned to 2 percent more quickly than anticipated,” the released noted.

The post S&P 500 Closes At All-Time High for Second Straight Day, Nasdaq and Dow Jones Also Record Gains appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Wall Street’s benchmark index S&P 500 was up by nearly 1%, trading above 6,100 and beating a prior record it hit back in December. It was also a good day for the Dow Jones Industrial Index, which gained 127 points, inching towards 44,200.

Several factors contributed to the S&P 500’s record-breaking boost, including the recent rise of the Netflix stock. Its shares jumped by 11% after the streaming giant’s strong quarterly performance, followed by an increase in prices for most of its service plans.

The launch of the $500 billion AI infrastructure venture “The Stargate Project” earlier this week also helped the S&P 500 soar. Oracle experienced a 7% rise, while Softbank’s US-listed shares added 10%. They’re two of the partners involved in Stargate, along with OpenAI and MGX. Three tech giants set to handle Stargate’s technology also experienced a boost –  Nvidia added 4.1%, Arm Holdings surged 14%, and Microsoft was up 3.9%.

The post S&P 500 Hits a Record High Due to Boost in Tech Stocks appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The CPI increased by 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the last month of 2024 compared to a 0.3% jump in November while putting the 12-month inflation at 2.9%. Economists predicted a 0.3% jump and 12-month inflation of 2.9%.

However, the core CPI, which excludes volatile prices of food and gas and is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, has been favorable and came below expectations. It saw a jump of 0.2% and came at an annual rate of 3.2%, while economists expected a 0.3% increase and an annual rate of 3.3%.

The CPI report had a positive effect on the stock market, which rebounded following a sluggish start of the week. Benchmark S&P 500 improved by 107 points or 1.83% to close at 5,949.91, blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced 703.27 points or 1.65% to close at 43,221.55, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared by 2.45% or 466.84  for a 19,511.23 points close. 

Experts believe that the CPI numbers won’t change the Fed’s intention to pause with rate cuts but should calm any concerns about interest rates going up.

“Today’s CPI may help the Fed feel a little more dovish. It won’t change expectations for a pause later this month, but it should curb some of the talk about the Fed potentially raising rates,” Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, told CNBC. “And judging by the market’s initial response, investors appeared to feel a sense of relief after a few months of stickier inflation readings.”

The post Consumer Price Index Rises in December, But Shows Encouraging Trend appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Benchmark S&P 500 lost 1.54% or 91.21 points to close at 5,827.04 and 0.7% down for the week. Tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at 19,161.63 after a 1.63% or 317.25 points dip, while blue-chip Dow Jones sank by 1.63% or 696.75 points for a 41,938.45 close on Friday. Nasdaq and Dow Jones are down by 0.6% and 1.1%, respectively, for the week.

The slump in the stock market was a direct result of Friday’s U.S. jobs report showing that the economy added 256,000 non-farm payrolls in December compared to 212,000 in the month prior and 155,000 expected by economists. Additionally, the unemployment rate slipped to 4.1% versus predictions of 4.25%.

“Good news for the economy but not for the markets, at least for now,” Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, told CNBC. “However, this unexpected gain relative to the consensus projection does not change our view that the labor market is likely to decelerate further in coming quarters.”

The strong labor market, as well as inflation concerns, will likely prompt the Fed to adopt a slower approach to future interest rate cuts. The expectation is that there will be two rate cuts this year and none before June.

The post S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq Plunge on Surprising U.S. Jobs Report appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.