S&P 500 Extends Weekly Losses to 4% Amid Constant Trump Chaos and Confusion

Barry Adams
07 Mar, 2025
New York City

The roller-coaster ride this week continued on Wall Street, and investors worried about the state of the U.S. economy and the damage caused by the Trump administration's tariff policies.

The S&P 500 decreased 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.7% amid worries about the resurgent inflation and confusion about Trump trade policies. 

Stock market indexes walked back this week amid constant Trump tariff flip-flops, confusion about implementation plans, and chaotic economic policy of the Trump administration.

The constant confusion and chaos induced by Donald Trump have forced down the S&P 500 index by 4.2% and the Nasdaq Composite by 4.8%. 

Investors are unnerved by a steady stream of updates, uncertainty about the federal government policies, and lack of clarity about the administration's future plans.

Moreover, nonfarm payrolls in February rose 151,000, higher than the downwardly revised 125,000 in the previous month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. 

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.1%, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.1 million, changed little in February.

The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4.0% to 4.2% since May 2024.

In February, average hourly wages inched up annually 4% to $35.93.

 

Commodities, Currencies, Indexes, Yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.3% to 5,753.60, the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.5% to 18,152.19, and the Russell 2000 index was down 0.3% to 2,061.14.

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged lower to 3.92%, 10-year Treasury notes decreased to 4.22%, and 30-year Treasury bonds declined to 4.54%.

WTI crude oil decreased $0.79 to $67.17 a barrel, and natural gas prices edged lower by $0.17 to $4.13 a thermal unit.

Gold increased by $2.84 to $2,913.40 an ounce, and silver edged down by $0.38 to $32.25.

The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of foreign currencies, decreased 0.32 to 103.74 and traded at a two-year high.

 

U.S. Stock Movers 

Walgreens Boots Alliance jumped 7% to $11.35 after the drugstore chain agreed to go private in a $10 billion deal, or $11.45 per share, with Sycamore Partners after four months of negotiations. 

Nasdaq Inc. dropped 2.7% to $74.09, and the stock exchange operator announced its plans to offer 24-hour trading during weekdays, following similar announcements by the NYSE and the CBOE. 

Gap Inc. jumped 12% to $21.88 after the specialty apparel retailer announced its fourth quarter results. 

Net sales dropped to $4.15 billion from $4.30 billion, net income jumped to $206 million from $185 million, and earnings per diluted share rose to 54 cents from 49 cents a year ago.

Comparable sales in the quarter advanced 3%.

The company guided for the first quarter of 2025 net sales flat to up slightly, compared to $3.4 billion in 2024.

For the full year, Gap estimated sales growth between 1% and 2%, compared to $15.09 billion in 2024.

Broadcom Inc. jumped 3.5% to $185.70 after the advanced semiconductor company reported strong quarterly results, and the company offered a solid outlook for the current quarter. 

Net revenue increased to $14.92 billion from $11.96 billion, net income surged to $5.50 billion from $1.32 billion, and earnings per diluted share rose to $1.14 from 28 cents a year ago.

The company approved a quarterly cash dividend of 59 cents per share, payable on March 31 to stockholders on record as of March 20.

Broadcom guided for the second quarter revenue of approximately $14.9 billion, up 19% from $12.49 billion a year ago, and adjusted EBITDA of 66% of projected revenue, compared to 59% of revenue in the same quarter in 2024.