Wall Street Indexes Struggle Amid Stagflation Worries and Tariff Uncertainties

Barry Adams
25 Mar, 2025
New York City

Market rally on Wall Street appeared to fizzle out, and tariff flip-flop worry dominated market sentiment. 

The S&P 500 index increased as much as 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite edged down a fraction amid confusion about the scope and timing of the next round of tariffs promoted by the U.S. President. 

Wall Street indexes sharply rebounded on reports that the next round of tariffs, which are import taxes paid by all consumers, may not be as harsh as previously advertised. 

However, the worry of economic slowdown and higher inflation resurfaced after another pronouncement from the White House suggested a sharp increase in tariffs on automobiles and pharmaceutical imports. 

Market indexes have been in a tailspin over the last five weeks after the Trump administration doubled down on the import tax as the new key source of revenue for the federal government. 

Despite the presidential campaign promises to lower prices, not just inflation, Trump is set to increase prices for all consumers and use that revenue to finance tax cuts for the wealthy donors. 

 

Commodities, Currencies, Indexes, Yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.1% to 5,770.82, the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1% to 18,203.11, and the Russell 2000 index was down 0.1% to 2,107.73.

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged higher to 4.05%, 10-year Treasury notes decreased to 4.34%, and 30-year Treasury bonds advanced to 4.68%.

WTI crude oil increased $0.54 to $69.65 a barrel, and natural gas prices edged higher by $0.01 to $3.93 a thermal unit.

Gold increased by $17.86 to $3,027.54 an ounce, and silver edged up by $0.78 to $33.71.

The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of foreign currencies, decreased by 0.27 to 103.99 and traded at a two-year high.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

KB Home dropped 9% to $56.52 after the home builder reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue and earnings.

New orders edged down 17% to 2,772 from 3,323, and deliveries fell 9% to 2,770 from 3,037 a year ago.

The average selling price increased 4% to $500,700 from $480,100, and the backlog of homes decreased 23% to 4,436 from 5,796 a year earlier.

UniFirst Corp. plunged 12.9% to $172.0 after Cintas terminated its merger talks, citing substantial differences with management. 

The company had offered $275 per share in a deal that valued UniFirst at $5.3 billion. 

”While we continue to believe in the merits of a transaction, we were unable to have substantive engagement with UniFirst regarding key transaction terms. We do not believe further discussions are warranted at this time,” Cintas CEO Todd Schneider said in a statement. 

American Electric Power declined 1.6% to $102.52 after the company planned a secondary offering to raise as much as $2 billion.