Investing

Live Market Update: S&P 500 Opens Lower on Political Rumblings in Washington

Joel South

Published: April 21, 2025 9:45 am

Last Updated: April 21, 2025 4:17 pm

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A Bad Day for Investors Got Much, Much Worse

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A trading day that started out bad for investors this morning ended in a market rout. By the time the closing bell rang on Monday, the Dow had lost 972 points, a 2.5% decline. Losses on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were similarly bad, down 2.4% and 2.6%, respectively.

Investors can lay most of the blame for today’s losses at the feet of President Trump, who spooked markets early in the day with a post on Truth Social decrying Fed Chairman Powell’s failure to announce “‘Preemptive Cuts’ in Interest Rates” despite there being “virtually No Inflation.” The President proceeded to warn investors that “there can be a SLOWING of the economy” if the Fed Chair fails to cut rates — a warning that investors seem to have taken to heart.

In more positive, company-specific news, Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) announced this afternoon that it has submitted its new GLP-1 weight loss pill to the FDA for approval. Investors responded positively to this news, at least, perhaps anticipating that Novo may retake the lead over Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), which enjoyed a big share price rally last week on positive clinical trial results for its own GLP-1 diet pill, “orforglipron.”

U.S. Stock Market Is Broken

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Since calling April 2nd “Liberation Day” the President Trump tariff war has caused the U.S. stock market (SPY) to drop 10% while the rest of the world is down 3.1% over the same time period.

10 year treasury yields are also back down to 4.4% while gold prices continue to soar to $3,429 or up 3.03% today.

Stock market indices opened lower Monday after a three-day weekend, over the course of which President Trump criticized, and even threatened to fire, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over his reluctance to lower target interest rates. Meanwhile, in tariffs news, China is threatening “reciprocal countermeasures” against any country that reaches a tariffs deal with the U.S. that seems to be “at the expense of China’s interests.”

No wonder investors are nervous! Here’s how the major market indices are performing so far:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: Down 0.7%.

Nasdaq Composite: Down 1.5%.

S&P 500: Down 1%.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: VOO) is likewise down 1%.

Earnings

Earnings reports this morning centered on financial stocks and were generally positive, with Comerica (NYSE: CMA) beating by a penny in its Q1 report, and Bank of Hawaii (NYSE: BOH) exceeding expectations by $0.08.

Washington Trust Bancorp (Nasdaq: WASH), however, missed analysts’ earnings forecast, reporting $0.61 per share, three cents worse than expected.

Analyst Calls

Wall Street analysts suggest investors look elsewhere for bargains, focusing on the entertainment sector. Among today’s notable upgrades, Loop Capital recommended buying Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE: NCLH), and indeed said it is “favorably disposed to the entire cruise industry, as we think market share gains would be even more likely in a recession.”

Wolfe Research upgraded Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) stock to outperform, setting a $112 price target and praising the company for its “durable advantages” in parks, cruises, and streaming. In similar vein, Wolfe upgraded Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) stock to outperform. The banker said Spotify is scoring “win-win” agreements with record labels, rolling out new products, growing subscribers, and raising prices, all of which should contribute to profit margin growth.

In less optimistic news, GLJ Research cut its price target on Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) stock below $20 this morning. Analyst Gordon Johnson predicts Tesla will miss its Q1 earnings targets badly, reporting only $0.25 per share, non-GAAP, versus the Wall Street consensus of $0.44.