WEEKLY MARKET RECAP – APRIL 11, 2025

Fluctuating trade tensions once again rattled the stock market, but by the week’s end, major U.S. indexes posted strong gains—though not enough to erase the larger losses from the previous week. The NASDAQ jumped over 7%, the S&P 500 rose nearly 6%, and the Dow added about 5%.

Tariff-related headlines drove dramatic market swings, both in the U.S. and abroad. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 climbed as much as 3.8% during the day before closing down 1.6%. The following day, it soared 9.5%—its biggest single-day gain since 2008.

Government bond prices fell sharply amid the market turbulence, pushing yields higher across the board. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed from roughly 4.00% the previous Friday to 4.47%, with longer-dated Treasury yields rising to 4.85%.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), a barometer of expected short-term stock market volatility, spiked to a five-year high on Monday before subsiding. Despite the week’s dramatic swings, the VIX ended the week down around 17%.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 came within a whisker of a bear market, closing 19% below its February 19 peak—just shy of the 20% threshold. By Friday’s close, the index had rebounded somewhat, sitting 12.7% below its record high.

Gold prices continued their upward trajectory, rising for the fifth time in six weeks. On Friday, gold was trading around $3,250 per ounce, up 7% for the week and 22% so far in 2025, marking a new all-time high.

Despite fears that tariffs could stoke future inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed inflation slowing sharply. In March, annual inflation eased to 2.4%—its lowest in four years—down from 2.8% in February. Monthly prices declined 0.1%, the first drop since May 2020.

As major U.S. banks kicked off earnings season on Friday, analysts projected that S&P 500 companies would report an average earnings increase of 7.3% for the first quarter, according to FactSet. If those gains hold, it would mark the seventh straight quarter of year-over-year earnings growth.