Live Nasdaq Composite: Market Jitters Take Hold in Fed Bonanza
Key Points
- The markets are lower out of the gate amid jitters as the Fed kicks off its two-day interest rate bonanza and trade deal details remain elusive.
- Ford reported quarterly results, revealing the cost of the tariff wars.
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Trade Deal Doubts
President Trump in a meeting at the White House with Canada’s PM Mark Carney has all but taken the air out of the trade deal trade, stating that the U.S. is under no obligation to sign agreements. Instead, he suggested that the urgency is on the part of U.S. trade partners to sign them. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been touting progress on the trade deal front for weeks. The markets remain lower across the board.
Market Volatility Persists
The stock market remains a volatile playground for investors, with today’s VIX index, a fear barometer, climbing over 3% higher today. Investor fears are being fueled by tariffs and their impact on corporate America’s profits as Q1 earnings season continues to unfold, while this week’s FOMC meeting is piling onto the bandwagon. The VIX index is currently hovering just below the 25 level, far surpassing the high-volatility threshold of 20.
Wall Street Analyst Moves
Goldman Sachs has reiterated its “neutral” rating on EV stock Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) despite staying bullish on its autonomous driving opportunity. The analyst firm acknowledged China as Tesla’s biggest market.
BMO analysts have started coverage of e-commerce platform Shopify (Nasdaq: SHOP) with an “outperform” rating.
JPMorgan has turned cautious on Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG), lowering shares from an “overweight” rating to “neutral” on softening demand and some internal issues.
Fed Prediction
Wells Fargo economists have chimed in on what to expect from this week’s FOMC meeting. They say that while the “soft” data is flashing warning signals, the hard tariff-related data remains inconclusive. In response, they predict the Fed will hold steady on rates, saying, “we expect the FOMC will leave its target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 4.25%-4.50% at this week’s meeting.”
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
After starting the week on a down note, the selling is spilling into today’s session amid market jitters as the Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day bonanza on interest rates and the markets await greater clarity on trade deals. The tech-powered Nasdaq Composite is falling 1.2% this morning, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is losing over 200 points. The broader market index, the S&P 500, is off nearly 1%. Most sectors of the economy are under pressure, including energy, with a 2% drop. Magnificent Seven stocks are mostly in the red, except for Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) attempting to recoup recently lost ground.
Hedge fund tycoon Paul Tudor Jones told CNBC he expects the stock market to tumble to fresh lows no matter if the White House slashes tariffs on China imports from a triple-digit percentage to 50%.
After the closing bell yesterday, Ford (NYSE: F) confirmed tariff-related fears when it reported its Q1 results. The automaker warned it expects tariffs to cut into its profits by $1.5 billion in 2025 while following in the footsteps of industry peer General Motors (NYSE: GM) and withdrawing its future outlook.
Here’s a look at where things stand as of morning trading:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: Down 283.64 (-0.69%)
Nasdaq Composite: Down 158.61 (-0.89%)
S&P 500: Down 40.18 (-0.71%)
Market Movers
Data tech firm Palantir Technologies (Nasdaq: PLTR) is losing 11% on the day. CEO Alex Karp had second thoughts about selling shares when the stock price ballooned. Separately, OpenAI has scrapped plans to become a for-profit organization. Elon Musk’s xAI has teamed up with Palantir alongside investment firm TWG to make an AI push in the financial services sector.
Lemonade (NYSE: LMND), an AI-driven life insurance provider, is up 4.2% today after beating quarterly revenue estimates despite operating at a loss.
Constellation Energy (Nasdaq: CEG) is rising 6.6% on the day, bucking the downward trend on the heels of its Q1 results.
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