Stock Market News for Oct 17, 2025

U.S. stock markets closed lower on Thursday after a volatile session. Market participants remained concerned regarding the credit practice and the growing bad loans of some regional banks. At the same time, lingering trade and tariff conflicts between the United States and China and the U.S. government shutdown dented investors’ confidence in risky assets like equities. All three major stock indexes ended in negative territory.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.7% or 301.07 points to close at 45,952.24. Notably, 22 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, while eight finished in positive territory. At the intraday high, the blue-chip index was up 169 points and at the intraday low, the index was down 472.13 points.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 22,562.54, sliding 0.5% or 107.54 points driven by the weak performance of technology bigwigs. At the intraday high, the tech-laden index was up by 216.80 points and at the intraday low, the index was down 265.40 points.

The S&P 500 was down 0.6% to finish at 6,629.07. At the intraday high, the benchmark was up 0.6% and at the intraday low, the index was down 1.2%. Out of the 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index, nine ended in negative territory, while two were in positive territory. 

The Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF), the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU), the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) tumbled 2.8%, 1.1%, 1.1% and 1%, respectively.  

The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) jumped 22.6% to 25.31, its highest level since May. A total of 22.4 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 20.5 billion. The S&P 500 recorded 29 new 52-week highs and 16 new 52-week lows. The Nasdaq Composite registered 113 new 52-week highs and 109 new 52-week lows.

Regional Banks Tumble

Shares of two major regional banks tanked following serious concerns about their lending practices. Bad loans gear up for Zions Bancorporation, National Association ZION and Western Alliance Bancorporation WAL, which plunged 13.1% and 10.8%, respectively, following bankruptcies of two auto industry-related companies. SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) also tanked 6.2%.

In September, two auto sector companies, namely, First Brands and Tricolor Holdings went bankrupt. On Oct. 16, the stock price of major investment bank Jefferies Financial Group Inc. JEF also plummeted 10.6% after the firm disclosed $715 million of exposure tied to First Brands.

Jefferies Financial Group currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

U.S.-China Trade Conflicts

On Oct. 14, China sanctioned five U.S. subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean. With this any Chinese organization or individual will be prohibited from doing business with these companies. China cited national security as the primary reason for these sanctions. 

On the other hand, President Donald Trump said his administration is mulling over imposing cooking oil embargo on China. In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “China is committing an Economically Hostile Act by “purposefully not buying our Soybeans, and causing difficulty for our Soybean Farmers.” The U.S. government is considering “terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil.”

Trade tensions between the two largest trading partners in the world worsened last week after China imposed stringent restrictions on exporting rare earth minerals. President Trump threatened to impose an additional 100% duty on Chinese goods over and above the current level of tariffs. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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