Day Traders Diary

3/12/25

The major averages closed mixed, a minor victory, thanks to tame inflation data, easing concerns about the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 82 points, or 0.2%, to 41,350. The S&P 500 rose 27 points or 0.49% while the Nasdaq rose 212 points or 1.22%.

The beaten down tech sector which was down 3% for the week and down over 10% from the highs, rebounded today led by Tesla and Nvidia up 7% and 6% respectively. Only Apple was lower amount the big cap techs, lower on a downgrade.

Bonds were higher today as the 10-year Treasury yield rose more than 3 basis points to 4.32%. The 2-year Treasury yield rose 5 basis points to 3.99%, after falling to its lowest level since October on Tuesday morning. The consumer price index, a broad measure of costs across the U.S. economy, increased 0.2% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.8%.

This was lower than the respective Dow Jones estimates for 0.3% and 2.9%. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2% on the month and 3.1% for the past 12 months, both below expectations.

The rally may have been limited today as President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs took effect on Wednesday, and Canada said it will impose 25% retaliatory duties on more than $20 billion worth of U.S. goods. The European Union also responded swiftly, pledging to impose counter-tariffs on 26 billion euros ($28.33 billion) worth of U.S. imports beginning in April. GM and Ford were both lower today as those two companies use a lot of steel and aluminum.

This week alone, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have all dropped roughly 3%. The S&P 500 briefly dipped into correction territory on Tuesday, down 10% from a record set in February. Over the past month, the S&P 500 has lost more than 7%, while the Dow and Nasdaq have shed 6.8% and 10.2%, respectively.

The price of oil had a good day, up 2% due in part to the weak dollar. Gold was higher as well as bitcoin was modestly lower.