Trump tariffs lead to wild week on Wall Street
BlackRock chairman and CEO Larry Fink gives his take on tariff negotiations with China and market volatility on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
U.S. financial markets wrapped up one of their most volatile weeks since the COVID-19 pandemic as President Donald Trump plays fast and furious with his tariff plan that prompted retaliation from China.
When the dust settled, all three of the major benchmarks recorded gains on Friday, which added to the weekly advance.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 40212.71 | +619.05 | +1.56% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5363.36 | +95.31 | +1.81% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 16724.45559 | +337.14 | +2.06% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 5% for the week, the S&P 500 nearly 6% and the Nasdaq Composite 7%.
Still, the three major indexes remain negative for the year.
VOLUME AND VOLATILITY
The final numbers did not come without nail-biting. The CBOE’s Volatility Index, also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, hit a five-year high as the Dow saw swings of more than 2,000 points during several sessions.
CBOE’s Volatility Index (Courtesy: Google )
AMID STOCK SELL-OFFS, DON’T PANIC, EXPERTS SAY
The Dow gained 2,692 points on Wednesday, the biggest one-day point rise in history. Total trading volume on this day neared $30 trillion, the highest since at least May 2019, as tracked by Dow Jones Market Data Group. This is the same day that Trump, in a surprise pivot, paused tariffs on some countries.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
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BlackRock CEO Larry Fink noted the market’s resiliency on a conference call with investors Friday, and said he remains optimistic about capital markets.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLK | BLACKROCK INC. | 878.78 | +20.00 | +2.33% |
“We do not see systemic risks that there is not a pandemic,” Fink said. “The financial system is shown safe and sound, and the resiliency. The markets are trading more, more volume with the liquidity than any other time. With all this volatility, the markets have proven to be quite successful and work quite well. “Obviously, there’s near-term uncertainty.”
TARIFF PROGRESS
While uncertainty around tariffs tested investor resolve, the White House insists deals are being hammered out by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
“He confirmed that more than 15 offers are already on the table, which is remarkable in just a mere matter of days. And, as I said earlier, we’ve heard from more than 75 countries around the world,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Friday.
President Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on…