Day Traders Diary

3/31/25

The major averages closed mixed, but reversed course ahead of President Trump's April 2^nd tariff plan. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 417 points, or 1%, to settle at 42,001. The S&P 500 rose 30 points or 0.55%, reversing a 1.65% decline to a six month low earlier in the session. The Nasdaq Composite fell 23 points to 17299.

The month and quarter are over. The S&P 500 fell 5.8% for the month, posting its biggest monthly slide since December 2022. The Nasdaq lost 8.2% in March, while the Dow has fallen 4.2%.

For the quarter, the S&P 500 was down 4.6%, snapping a five-quarter win streak. The Nasdaq lost 10.4% in the quarter, which would mark its biggest quarterly pullback since a 22.4% plunge in the second quarter of 2022. The Dow shed 1.3% in the first three months of 2025.

Tech was the weak sector once again today with Nvidia down a percent on rumors of slowing AI spending from the tech titans. Tesla fell 1.7% on a downgrade. Apple was one of the big cap techs higher on an upgrade and improving demand from China.

Outside the tech space, the Dow was helped by consumer stables and defensive stocks like Walmart and Coke.

Most sectors were higher today including the financial sector.

Bonds were quiet ahead of Trump's tariffs with the 10 year Treasury pulled back 3 basis points to 4.22%. The 2-year Treasury fell 2 basis point to 3.89%.

The price of oil rose over 2% on Russia and Iran supply worries. Gold continues to rally up a percent to a new high. Bitcoin was quiet today.