U.S. markets continued to witness volatility on Monday as President Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ fast approaches, bringing a volley of tariffs across products, industries, allies, and adversaries. Leading analysts and experts have since urged the President to reconsider his trade policy stance.
What Happened: The market experienced another roller-coaster trading day, with the S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) up 0.6% at close after being down 1.7% in the morning. While this helps shave off some of its losses this quarter, it still marks the worst quarter for the index in two-and-a-half years, losing 4.6%.
The NASDAQ (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) ended 0.1% lower after witnessing wild swings of nearly 3% between the highs and lows of the day, followed by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) which closed with a 1% gain, after swerving 417 points to erase some initial losses. Both the indices are down for the quarter, with the NASDAQ losing 10.5% and the Dow Industrials 2.3%.
Among individual stocks, Discover Financial DFS and Live Nation Entertainment LYV were among top gainers at 7.5% and 4.4%, respectively, while Moderna MRNA, Grail Inc GRAL were among the top laggards, down 9% and 5% during the day, respectively.
Similarly, major index futures were a mixed bag on Monday evening, with Dow Futures up 1%, S&P 500 Futures up 0.55%, and Nasdaq 100 down 0.14%. All of this comes in response to the uncertain global political climate and in anticipation of a messy global trade war that could disrupt all industries.
See More: Tariffs, Inflation And Tumbling Markets: These 5 ETFs Thrived Amid Last Week’s Chaos
Why It Matters: Such steep curves have become routine for U.S. markets over the past couple of weeks, and there are no signs of it stopping any time soon, with seemingly no end to the uncertain trade policies of the Trump Administration, filled with false starts and abrupt changes.
Popular market voices such as Jim Cramer, who ironically came out in support of the tariffs last week, saying ‘I am pro-tariff, absolutely, I hate free trade,’ is nonetheless, critical of the way the President is approaching this matter, stating that the uncertainty is taking a toll on the markets and investors.
Was today one-off? Only if the President wants it to be
— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) April 1, 2025
Cramer took to Twitter again last night, addressing the wild swings in the market saying ‘Was today one-off? Only if the President wants it to be.’ This was quite clearly aimed at the Trump Administration, asking for more certainty and clarity on trade policies going forward.
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