Day Traders Diary

4/1/25

The major averages closed in the green with only the Dow modestly lower as the markets await clarity from President Donald Trump regarding his tariff policy rollout even as the face weaker-than-expected economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11 points. The S&P 500 rose 21 points while the Nasdaq jumped 150 points or 0.875.

On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing survey came in lighter than expected and in contraction territory. February's job openings were also slightly below estimates according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The yield on the 10-year lost 7 basis points to 4.16%. The 2-year Treasury yield ticked down 4 basis points to 3.87%.

Even with the weakness economic numbers, Consumer discretionary stocks were among the top performers of the day. Shares of Tesla gained 4%, while Nike rose 2%. Retailer, PVH jumped over 10% on earnings and optimistic guidance.

The weakest sector was healthcare, led by J&J down 7% on another court ruling.

Oil was quiet today. Gold and bitcoin were higher to start the new quarter.

The uncertainty has put stocks on a rollercoaster ride. The S&P 500 on Monday touched a six-month low before recovering. For the first quarter, the index lost 4.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 10%. That marked the worst quarterly performance for both benchmarks since 2022. The Dow dropped 1.3% during the first three months of the year.