Apr 5, 2025 - Economy
Stock market's two-day tariff rout
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The party's ending for stock investors.
The big picture: With the historic two-day rout Thursday and Friday, the major indices — the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 — are all lower now than they were a year ago.
- The market capitalization of the S&P stocks fell $4 trillion just this week — that's your 401k, your kids' 529 college savings, your nest egg, all a lot smaller than they were three days ago.
Zoom out: All three touched all-time highs in the last six months.
- Then came the tariffs.
- Now, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the small-cap Russell are in a "bear market," 20% off their highs and poised to fall further.
- The S&P isn't far off, down 17.4% from the new record it just set in mid-February.
What to watch: If the market can rally next week, or if the uncertainty remains too much.
- "The bull market is dead, and it was destroyed by ideologues and self-inflicted wounds," said Emily Bowersock Hill, CEO of Bowersock Capital Partners, in a note. "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."
