U.S. stocks markets closed mixed on Monday to finish the first quarter of 2025 after a choppy session. Market participants remained concerned of Trump’s tariffs, higher inflation rate and fear of a near-term recession. Wall Street has been facing extreme volatility since last month.
The Dow and the S&P 500 ended in positive territory while the Nasdaq Composite closed in negative zone. For the month, all three major stock indexes ended in negative territory. Similarly, for the quarter, these indexes closed in red.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) surged 1% or 417.86 points to close at 42,001.76. At intraday high, the blue-chip index was up 563.48 points. On the other hand, at intraday low, the index was down 453.77 points. Notably, 25 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory and 5 finished in negative zone.
The major gainer of the index was Walmart Inc. WMT. The stock price of the global discount supermarket giant increased 3.1%. Walmart currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 17,299.29 sliding 0.2% due to weak performance by technology bigwigs. In intraday low, the tech-laden index was down 468.62 points and at intraday high the index was up 12 points. Nasdaq Composite is currently in correction territory.
A correction territory is defined as a fall of 10% or more from the asset’s recent high. The index is currently down 14.4% from its recent high recorded on Dec. 16, 2024.The index has fallen more than 10% year to date, for the first time in past two years.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to finish at 5,611.85. In intraday high, Wall Street’s most observed benchmark was up 46.62 points and at intraday low, the index was down 92.21 points, touching its six-month low level. The index fell in correction zone briefly. All 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory.
The Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF), the Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB), the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE), the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP), the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU), the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) rose 1.2%, 1.1%, 1.1%, 1.6%, 1.1%, 1% and 1.1%, respectively.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 2.9% to 22.28, marking its two-week high level. A total of 14 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 16 billion.
Monthly Roundup
Wall Street closed a tumultuous March. The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 4.2%, 5.8% and 8.2%, respectively. Both S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite recorded their biggest percentage monthly decline since December 2022.
Uncertainty regarding the Trump administration’s tariffs and trade policies and their impact on the U.S. economy, especially on an already-elevated inflation rate, rattled market participants’ sentiments. Investors remained highly concerned of a near-term recession.
Quarterly Roundup
U.S. stock markets ended a highly disappointing first-quarter 2025. The Dow fell 1.3%. The S&P 500 shed 4.6%, terminating a five-quarter win run. The Nasdaq Composite slid 10.4%, marking its biggest quarterly pullback since the second-quarter of 2022.
The tech-heavy index is in correction territory. The S&P 500 briefly entered correction zone several times this quarter. Wall Street closed January and February on positive notes. However, severe volatility, that has started since the second half of February, resulted in negative close for U.S. stock markets in first-quarter.
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Walmart Inc. (WMT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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