Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Stock Market News for Apr 9, 2025

Read MoreHide Full Article

Wall Street closed sharply lower on Tuesday, weighed down by the raging tariff war. Strong early morning optimism about deal breakthroughs was overshadowed by rising concerns on the White House confirming that it expects the tariffs to go through. All of the three most widely followed indexes closed the session in the red.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.8%, or 320.01 points, to close at 37,645.59. Twenty-five components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, while five ended in positive.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 335.35 points, or 2.2%, to close at 15,267.91.

The S&P 500 lost 79.48 points, or 1.6%, to close at 4,982.77. This is the only second instance in which the benchmark index has closed below the 5000 mark in almost a year. All of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the red. The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB), the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) lost 3.1%, 2.5% and 2.4%, respectively.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased 11.4% to 52.33. A total of 23.45 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, widely surpassing the last 20-session average of 17.35 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 3.03-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by 3.49-to-1 on the Nasdaq.

S&P 500 in Touching Distance of Entering a Bear Market

Earlier on Tuesday, the S&P 500 had risen 4% on the hope that the Trump administration would soften its stance by postponing its deadline for tariffs. This was being interpreted as a first push toward recovery, especially after declining more than 12% since the Trump “Liberation Day” tariff announcements. This is the benchmark index’s biggest consecutive four-day percentage since the COVID pandemic. Uncertainty around the hefty global tariff announcements has effectively wiped out $5.83 trillion of the S&P 500’s market value.

In the afternoon, however, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the President expects tariffs to go into effect even though close to 70 countries had already reached out for negotiations. A significant exception, of course, was China, which said earlier that it will never accept the "blackmail nature" of Trump's threat to increase tariffs. The White House said that it expects 104% tariffs on China to go into effect on Wednesday. This effectively wiped out most of the gains made in the morning. The S&P 500 came in touching distance of confirming a bear market, finishing almost 19% below its record close on Feb. 19. Each and everyone of its broad sectors declined, as did other benchmark indexes.

Consequently, shares of Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) and Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) plunged 7.4% and 5%, respectively. INTC currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Mary Daly Reiterates That Rate Cuts Might Not Come Very Soon

On Tuesday, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said that there is no rush to cut interest rates, as the economy and the labor market were still robust and President Donald Trump's tariff policies need to be monitored further. "With growth good and policy in a good place, we have built the time and the ability to just tread slowly and tread carefully," Daly said at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. However, she mentioned that she was a little concerned that tariffs might temporarily lift inflation.

No economic data was released on Tuesday.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Intel Corporation (INTC) - free report >>

Apple Inc. (AAPL) - free report >>

Published in