Stock Market Today: Stocks bounce back on shutdown optimism; Gold tops $3,000
Stocks claw back some of the week's heavy losses.
Updated at 4:45 PM EDT by Rob Lenihan
Stocks ended higher Friday as investors took heart that a government shutdown might be avoided while eyeing developments in the burgeoning global trade war.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 674.62 points, or 1.65%, to finish the session at 41,488.19, while the S&P 500 gained 2.13% to close at 5,638.94, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 2.61% to end the day at 17,754.09.
It was the best day in 2025 for both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
The Dow fell roughly 3.1% for its worst week since March 2023, CNBC reported. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both dropped more than 2% and posted their fourth consecutive losing week.
Meanwhile, Tesla warned that it and other major American exporters are exposed to retaliatory tariffs that could be leveled in response to President Donald Trump's aggressive use of tariffs, according to Reuters.
The comments were made in an unsigned letter on Tesla letterhead to United States Trade Representative Jamison Greer.
"U.S. exporters are inherently exposed to disproportionate impacts when other countries respond to U.S. trade actions," Tesla said in the letter.
"For example, past trade actions by the United States have resulted in immediate reactions by the targeted countries, including increased tariffs on EVs imported into those countries."
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump, has been leading the White House effort to shrink the size of the federal government. The billionaire heads up the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
Updated at 12:20 PM EDT
Firming rally
Stocks are rallying firmly into the afternoon session, with the S&P 500 up 88 points, or 1.64%, and the Nasdaq powering 357 points, or 2.06%
"The CPI and PPI both came in cooler than expected this week, but today’s data suggests some consumers aren’t necessarily feeling optimistic about the economy or the trajectory of inflation," said Chris Larkin, managing director for trading and investing at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.
"Last month the stock market stumbled more than once on negative sentiment surprises," he added. "But it remains to be seen whether they will have the same effect this time around, since the market has already pulled back notably from its highs."
The S&P 500 is down 6.1% in the first 48 trading days of 2025, among the worst starts to a year since 1928. Does that mean stocks will end the year in the red? Not necessarily. We see big comebacks in markets all the time. Most recent example: 2020. $SPXhttps://t.co/l5IYmkeySJ pic.twitter.com/6tmlapYyzl— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) March 14, 2025
Updated at 10:08 AM EDT
Sentiment slump
The University of Michigan's benchmark consumer sentiment survey for the month of March fell just under 7 points to 57.9 points, well shy of Wall Street's 63 point forecast, while year-ahead inflation expectations surged 60 basis points to 4.9%.
Long-term inflation forecasts, meanwhile rose 40 basis points to 3.9%, the highest reading since the early 1990s.
UMich Consumer Expectations - one of the worst since the GFC, lowest since July 2022 pic.twitter.com/YmlhVZCrYb— Mike Zaccardi, CFA, CMT
