The trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on March 19, 2025.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images
US stocks fell on Friday, S&P 500 At a pace that extends the defeats since late February caused by trade policy disruptions, fears of a recession, and MegaCup Technology stock rollovers.
The S&P 500 hit 0.8%, bringing a wide range of market indexes back on track with its first five weeks of winning streak in over two years. Nasdaq Composite We've regained 0.7%. Dow Jones Industrial Average It dropped 264 points, or 0.6%.
Traders were preparing for a potentially volatile session on Friday with the so-called “Four-leaf Witch.” – If stock options, index futures, index options, and single-stock futures expire. Goldman estimates that Over $4.7 trillion The expected option exposure will expire.
The losses that day pushed the S&P 500 into negative territory per week, down 0.4% per week. At some point in a month's defeat, I fell into the corrections territory, but now I've tried to mount a comeback from the termoil, which means I'm going to go above 8% from a record high that's not reaching a 10% correction level.
The benchmark appeared to rebound on Wednesday, when Federal Reserve policymakers maintained forecasts of two interest rate cuts in 2025, but the rebound proved to be short-lived as the market fell on Thursday and Friday.
“The market is now more risk-averse,” said Rob Williams, chief investment strategist at Sage Advisory. “You'll always get some technical bouncing off, but you're probably in more pain.”
“We don't even feel the full impact of tariffs because they're still ruining negotiating them,” he continued, adding, “Maybe we'll get closer than we thought.”
Corporate tariff concerns are also agreeing to the market as President Donald Trump's April 2nd tariff deadline is looming in the market, according to Michael Green, chief strategist at Dimplify Asset Management.
“Companies are increasingly citing confusion and uncertainty around planning and capital spending and employment decisions, and when they pause, that means they're slowing down,” he said. “There's an element of playing in the market.”
Two economic hellwethers on Friday were leading the way. Fedex It fell 8% after cutting revenue outlook, citing “weakness and uncertainty in the US industrial economy.” Nike Stocks fell about 5% after the shoe and apparel giant said the quarter would overlook analysts' expectations due to tariffs and reduced consumer confidence.
