This has been a volatile week in the stock market and regarding tariffs. Jean Luc and Peter Mingils host a Radio show on Fridays. Jean Luc is a man, French born, and now California resident with a cool French accent. He is an entrepreneur, a sailboat owner, and captain and 2020 heart transplant survivor. Peter Mingils started working with Jean Luc almost a decade ago when he was a customer of PM Marketing Network Leads and this is their 423rd radio show. I think, on Building Fortunes Radio.
Here is a point of view about what happened this week:
The Stock Market Rollercoaster of April 2025: Tariffs, Turmoil, and a Temporary Truce
April 2025 will be remembered as a month of unprecedented volatility in global stock markets, driven by President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies and their far-reaching consequences. The month began with a seismic announcement on April 2, when Trump unveiled sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs targeting nearly every U.S. trading partner, escalating a trade war that rattled investors, businesses, and consumers alike. These tariffs, implemented in phases starting April 5, sent markets into a tailspin, sparked retaliatory measures from nations like China and the EU, and raised fears of a global recession. However, a dramatic policy reversal mid-month offered temporary relief, only to leave lingering uncertainty that continued to shape market dynamics.
The initial shock came as Trump imposed a baseline 10% tariff on all trading partners, with steeper rates for specific countries: 104% on China, 46% on Vietnam, 20% on the EU, and 25% on non-USMCA-compliant goods from Canada and Mexico. The S&P 500 plummeted over 10% in just two days, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 2,200 points on April 4 alone, marking its worst week since 2020. The Nasdaq entered bear market territory, driven by fears that higher import costs would erode corporate profits, particularly for tech giants reliant on global supply chains like Apple and Nvidia. Asian and European markets followed suit, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 falling over 4% and London’s FTSE 100 shedding 2.2%. Investors fled to safe-haven assets, pushing U.S. Treasury yields up and oil prices below $60 per barrel amid concerns over reduced global demand.
The tariffs’ economic implications were immediate and stark. Retailers like Walmart warned of sales volatility, with CFO John David Rainey noting that consumer sentiment had soured, impacting first-quarter forecasts. Delta Air Lines pulled its 2025 guidance, citing a slump in travel bookings. Economists, including J.P. Morgan’s Michael Feroli, estimated the tariffs could raise U.S. consumer prices by 1-1.5%, boosting inflation to 2.7-3.1% while shaving 0.2% off GDP growth. Low- and moderate-income consumers, who spend heavily on tariffed goods like food and clothing, faced the brunt, amplifying recession fears. Prominent voices like JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and BlackRock’s Larry Fink warned of systemic risks, with Fink suggesting markets could fall another 20%.
China’s response escalated tensions further. On April 10, Beijing announced 34% tariffs on U.S. goods, which it later raised to 84% and then 125% by April 12 in retaliation for Trump’s increase to 145% on Chinese imports. This tit-for-tat trade war wiped trillions from global markets, with the S&P 500 flirting with a bear market at a 19% loss from its February peak. Volatility spiked to levels unseen since the COVID-19 crisis, with the VIX index hitting 50 points on April 7. A false rumor of a 90-day tariff pause, amplified by an influential X post, briefly spiked stocks before the White House labeled it “fake news,” triggering another sell-off.
The turning point came on April 9, when Trump announced a stunning reversal: a 90-day pause on most tariffs, reducing them to a uniform 10% for all countries except China, where duties rose to 125%. The markets erupted in relief, with the Dow soaring 2,963 points (7.8%), the S&P 500 jumping 9.5%—its best day since 2008—and the Nasdaq leaping 12.1%. Global markets followed, with Japan’s Nikkei surging 9.1% and South Korea’s Kospi gaining 6.6%. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed this was Trump’s strategy all along, aimed at forcing trade negotiations, though Trump himself cited market panic as a factor, admitting, “You have to be flexible.” Retail stocks like Wayfair and Levi Strauss spiked, benefiting from lower tariffs on Vietnamese imports.
Yet, the euphoria was short-lived. By April 10, stocks slid again as investors grappled with ongoing uncertainty. The Dow fell 2.5%, and the Nasdaq dropped 4.3%, erasing much of the previous day’s gains. China’s vow to “fight to the end” and the EU’s approval of counter-tariffs on $23 billion in U.S. goods signaled that trade tensions were far from resolved. Federal Reserve officials, including Boston’s Susan Collins, warned of weaker growth and inflation above 3%, complicating monetary policy. Despite a strong weekly finish for U.S. indices—the S&P 500 and Dow logged their best weeks since 2023—analysts cautioned that the 90-day pause merely delayed tough negotiations with over 50 countries.
April 2025 exposed the fragility of markets in the face of policy unpredictability. Trump’s tariffs, while partially paused, left businesses and investors on edge, with no clear resolution in sight. As Treasury Secretary Bessent put it, the next few months would be a “busy” period of bespoke trade deals, but for now, the world braced for more volatility.
https://networkleads.com is the website where Jean Luc got started. This was ordered in 1998 and is still working today. Building Fortunes is the domain name oif the affiliate site.
