U.S. Stocks Seesaw in Volatile Session Amid Global Trade War
New York, NY – April 9, 2025
U.S. stock markets whipsawed through a roller-coaster session on Tuesday, April 8, as investors grappled with escalating fears of a global trade war sparked by President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff regime. The S&P 500 (SPY) closed at 499.008 USD, up slightly from its previous day’s close of 490.5665 USD, reflecting a volatile day that saw it swing between a low of 485.622 and a high of 500.905, according to real-time financial data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite mirrored the turbulence, ending mixed after wild intraday swings, as traders oscillated between panic over Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs and fleeting hopes of negotiation breakthroughs.
The session kicked off with a sharp sell-off, driven by news of China’s retaliatory 34% tariffs on all U.S. goods and the European Union’s countermeasure proposals against Trump’s levies, which hit 104% on Chinese imports and 20% on European steel. By 10:45 a.m. EDT, the S&P 500 had cratered to 493.287, per real-time metrics, down over 1% from its open of 493.44. The Dow shed over 600 points in the first hour, per ABC News, while the Nasdaq teetered on the edge of bear market territory—down 18% from its December peak. “It’s chaos out there,” said Bret Kenwell, an analyst at eToro, noting the market’s “immense uncertainty” to ABC News.
A mid-morning rumor of a possible 90-day tariff pause—swiftly debunked as “fake news” by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on CNBC—sparked a brief rally. The S&P 500 surged to 498.882 by 11:30 a.m. EDT, a 1% jump from its daily low, while the Nasdaq clawed back into positive territory, buoyed by tech stalwarts like Nvidia. Posts on X captured the frenzy: “S&P up 0.7%, Nasdaq +1.5%—deal hopes with Japan?” one user speculated, reflecting sentiment reported by Street Insider. Yet, Trump’s midday Truth Social post, vowing “no backing down” and threatening 50% tariffs on China by Wednesday if Beijing didn’t relent, dashed the rebound. The Dow closed down 349 points, per ABC News, while the S&P 500 eked out a 0.5% gain, and the Nasdaq ticked up 0.1%.
The trade war’s toll is stark. Since Trump’s April 2 tariff unveiling, the S&P 500 has shed nearly 10% from its March 25 peak of 576.0, with a $5 trillion market cap wipeout reported by Reuters over two days last week. Tuesday’s Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) hit 46.98, its highest since April 2020, signaling extreme investor angst. “Shorts are on a hair trigger,” Jamie Cox of Harris Financial Group told Reuters, eyeing any hint of Federal Reserve intervention or a tariff thaw. Meanwhile, Treasury yields climbed—10-year notes at 4.31%—as bonds lost safe-haven appeal amid inflation jitters.
Global markets echoed the unease. Asia’s Hang Seng plummeted 13.2% on Monday, per The Guardian, and Europe’s STOXX 600 closed 4.54% lower, per CNBC. Canada’s Mark Carney and Japan’s negotiators signaled talks, but Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick doubled down on Fox Business: “We’re resetting global trade.” For U.S. investors, the seesaw session—captured in SPY’s 1-day range from 485.622 to 500.905—underscored a brutal reality: with tariffs locked in and retaliation mounting, volatility is the new normal, and no one’s betting on a quick fix.
By Staff Writer, Market Pulse Tribune