Day Traders Diary

4/11/25

The major averages finished on a highlight following one of the most volatile weeks in history as US and China go tik for tak on trade tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 619 points, or 1.56%, and closed at 40,212. The S&P 500 rose 95 points or 1.8% to 5363. The Nasdaq Composite 337 points or 2% to settle at 16,724.

Stocks took a leg higher Friday afternoon on comments from the White House that President Donald Trump is "optimistic" China will seek a deal with the U.S.

This week has been one of the most volatile periods on record for Wall Street. The major averages tumbled Thursday as traders went into risk-off mode, with trade policy uncertainty weighing on sentiment. Stocks lost a chunk of the historic gains seen on Wednesday after Trump announced a 90-day reprieve on some of his high "reciprocal" tariffs.

The S&P 500 fell 3.46% on Thursday, while the 30-stock Dow tumbled 1,014.79 points, or 2.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day lower by 4.31%. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rallied 9.52% for its third-largest gain in a single day since WWII.

Despite the tumultuous week, the three major averages notched solid gains in the period. The S&P 500 posted a 5.7% advance for its best week since November 2023. The Nasdaq rose 7.3% during the week for its best performance since November 2022. The Dow gained nearly 5% over the week.

Besides equities, bonds also had a crazy week. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed higher Friday, adding to its steep weekly rise. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield advanced 9 basis points to 4.48%. The 2-year Treasury yield climbed 12 basis points on the day to 3.97%. The 10-year yield this week has risen more than 50 basis points this week after ending last week around 4%, marking one of the biggest spikes on record.

In the commodity space, oil was higher by a percent. Gold was up 2% and bitcoin jumped 5%.