Here are three things investors need to know to start their trading day on April 4, 2025.
Stock futures (ES=F, NQ=F, YM=F) are plummeting for a second day. The sell-off accelerated after China announced it will slap a retaliatory tariff on all US goods.
The March jobs report was a mixed bag. The US added 228,000 jobs in the month, much more than the expected 140,000, but the unemployment rate did tick higher to 4.2%.
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Let's get you the three things you need to know today. First up, US stock futures extending declines this morning after the stock market wiped out wiped out more than $3 trillion in value on Thursday. That was after President Trump rolled out the highest tariffs in over a century. The sell-off was the S&P 500's worst drop since 2020. It fell 4.5%. The Nasdaq dropped 5%, and it wiped out a trillion dollars from tech stocks. Meanwhile, the bid into safe havens is accelerating as China retaliates against Trump's tariffs, pushing 10-year yields below 3.9%, the lowest since before election day. Two-year yields dropping to their lowest since September 2022. Money markets are now fully pricing in four rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, up from just three cuts before the tariffs were announced.
Investors also digesting the latest jobs report which showed 228,000 jobs added last month, well above the expectation for just 140,000. The report offering some reassurance that the labor market is still intact, but the unemployment rate did tick up just a bit to 4.2%. Meantime, investors will watch for comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later this morning as he sits down for Q&A, which is likely to focus on how tariffs will impact inflation, the labor market and more.
Plus, on the tariff front, China announced retaliatory tariffs of 34% on all goods from America. Prior to China's announcement, Trump said he is open to negotiations, contradicting White House aides who insist the sweeping tariffs are not a bargaining tactic. The president said he was open to reducing his tariffs if other nations were able to offer something phenomenal, in his words. Trump defended the levies saying the economic turbulence would settle.