Day Traders Diary

4/21/25

The major averages pull back sharply to start the week with no progress on the trade front ahead of a big earnings week while President Donald Trump ramped up his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, raising questions about the central bank's independence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 971 points or 2.48%. The S&P 500 fell 124 points or 2.3% while the Nasdaq fell 415 points or 2.55%.

Tech took it on the chin with a number of the big caps reporting this week including Tesla and Google. Tesla fell 5% on a possible delay on low end electric vehicles in the US. Nvidia fell 4% on concerns of growing competition from China. The rest of the big caps like Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft were down 2% or more.  

No sector was spared in the sell off. Only a few stocks in the S&P 500 were in the green. Grocer, Kroger made a new 52 week high today. Other defensive stocks like Kraft, Mondelez, Ulta Beauty and Dollar General were higher today.

Interest rates backed up a little with the increase tensions between President Trump and the Fed chairman. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose 8 basis points to 4.40%. The 2-year Treasury yield was 3 basis points lower to 3.76%.

The dollar was also under pressure, hitting a three-year low on the Fed chairman threats. Gold, meanwhile, soared to record highs above $3,400 per ounce. Oil was lower by 2% while bitcoin rose 3% to $87,250, bumping up against a one month high.