Stock market today: Wall Street closes higher, snapping a 4-week losing
streak
[March 22, 2025] By
DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA
Stocks on Wall Street shook off a weak start and closed slightly higher
Friday, snapping a four-week losing streak.
The S&P 500 edged up 0.1%. The index finished with a 0.5% gain for the
week. It’s still down 4.8% so far this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.1% gain, while the Nasdaq
composite rose 0.5%.
Technology stocks, which had been the heaviest weights on the market in
the early going, bounced back to offset a big share of the declines
elsewhere in the S&P 500. The sector has been at the center of much of
the market's recent sell-off in a reversal from their market-driving
gains throughout the previous year. The stocks are among the most
valuable on Wall Street and have outsized impacts on the whether the
market gains or loses ground.
Apple rose about 2% and Microsoft added 1.1%. Another Big Tech stock,
Nvidia, fell 0.7%, while Micron Technology slid 8% for the biggest
decline among S&P 500 stocks.

Stocks have been losing ground for weeks over uncertainty about the
direction of the U.S. economy. A trade war between the U.S. and its key
trading partners threatens to worsen inflation and hurt both consumers
and businesses. Inflation remains stubbornly above the Federal Reserve's
goal of 2% and tariffs could hurt the central bank's efforts to ease the
rate of inflation.
President Donald Trump has set an April 2 deadline to impose more
tariffs on trading partners. It follows a series of other deadlines that
have been set for tariffs only to be postponed, sometimes at the last
minute.
“Investors are confused, but there's a lot less panic infusing the
market,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide.
Businesses have been warning investors about tariffs, inflation and
growing uncertainty about the impact to costs.
Nike slumped 5.5% after it forecast a steep decline in revenue in the
current quarter, blaming geopolitical dynamics, new tariffs by the Trump
administration and a less confident consumer.
FedEx tumbled 6.4% after the package delivery company said it expects
revenue to be flat to slightly down year-over-year and lowered its
per-share profit guidance.
Homebuilder Lennar fell 4% after giving investors a weaker-than-expected
forecast for new orders and average sales prices for the current
quarter. It said high interest rates, inflation, and waning consumer
confidence are weighing on an already tough housing market.
High interest rates have been a key issue for the housing market. The
Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate steady at its most
recent meeting this week as it assesses the potential impact from
tariffs and other U.S. policy shifts.
The Fed cut interest rates through the end of last year amid
consistently easing inflation rates, but has been holding steady so far
in 2025. Lower rates can bolster the economy, but they can also push
inflation higher.
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People work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York,
Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
 Fed Chair Jerome Powell has
acknowledged that the economy remains solid, but stressed that
uncertainty is making forecasting difficult.
“With Fed Chair Powell acknowledging that the effect of tariffs on
consumer confidence, economic growth and inflation remain unknown,
we might be in this below-water holding pattern until after April
2,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.
A recent batch of economic reports on home sales, industrial
production and unemployment reinforced the view that the economy is
holding strong. But other reports on consumer sentiment and retail
sales have revealed rising caution from consumers.
“We're in really pessimistic territory,” Hackett said. “When
everybody is pessimistic, that's when a tiny bit of optimism can
move markets pretty strongly.”
In the bond market, Treasury yields mostly held steady. The yield on
the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.25% from 4.23% late Thursday.
Airlines were under pressure. A fire knocked out power at London’s
Heathrow Airport, forcing it to shut down and disrupting global
travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers. Ryanair Holdings
fell 1.5%.
Shares in several U.S.-based airlines were mixed. American Airlines
rose 1.2%, United Airlines added 1.1% and Delta Air Lines fell 0.4%.
Troubled airplane maker Boeing surged 3.1% after Trump said Boeing
will build the Air Force’s future fighter jet. The company has been
facing scrutiny over safety issues for years.
Boeing's rival in the defense sector, Lockheed Martin, slumped 5.8%.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 4.67 points to 5,667.56. The Dow gained
32.03 points to 41,985.35, and the Nasdaq rose 92.43 points to
17,784.05.
Markets in Europe fell. Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.6% after the Bank
of England held its main interest rate steady a day earlier.
Germany's DAX slipped 0.5%. German lawmakers voted for a budget that
will boost defense and infrastructure spending.

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Jiang Junzhe and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
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