Pre-Markets in Red to Start Q2 2025

Pre-market futures were flattish but are dipping into the red at this hour. The countdown to reciprocal tariffs placed on “everyone” of the U.S.’s trading partners is on (tomorrow, Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025). This, after the Dow gained a full percentage point yesterday, and the S&P 500 grew half a point (the Nasdaq was slightly down as “Mag-7” continues to unwind).Currently, the Dow is -249 points, the S&P 500 is -26 and the Nasdaq -77. The small-cap Russell 2000 is -5 points at this time. Year-to-date, we’re down -2% on the Dow, -5% on the S&P 500, -8% on the Nasdaq and -10% on the Russell 2000. And all this before tariffs are even slapped onto American imports, before the reverberations begin.Mohamed el-Erian, on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning, thinks it’s 50/50 whether immediate or near-term capitulation from our trading partners forms, or whether we descend into “stagflation” that might be expected from a global trade war. He’s a very astute individual so ought to be paid attention to. One comment, though: attitudes the world over about the Trump administration and vice-versa are currently, shall we say, chippy. As such, it may be harder to picture a clean, pure capitulation from a majority of U.S. trading partners than something that more firmly challenges Trump and his leadership. Please note the reaction of Canadians to becoming the “51st State” or the Danes when faced with a possible annexation of Greenland.What to Expect from Today’s Stock MarketAfter today’s opening bell, we’ll see a slew of economic data. It may not be enough to quell the nervous trepidation of “Liberation Day,” but it will at least bring a narrative that summarizes part of the first quarter of 2025:The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for February is expected to remain steady at 7.7 million, roughly the median looking back at the past 12 months of JOLTS headlines. We peaked in March 2022 — coincidentally(?) the very month the Fed began raising interest rates from 0-0.25% — at 12.1 million, but we seem to be settling in somewhere a bit higher than pre-Covid JOLTS levels.ISM Manufacturing comes in for the month of March today, expected to dip sub-50 (the demarkation between growth and deceleration): +49.5%. This follows a +50.3% reported for February and an even-more robust +50.9% in January. That was the loftiest perch since September of 2022. For further context the near-term lows came out the month before the election: +46.9%.S&P final U.S. Manufacturing PMI for March is not expected to shift from the prior read: +49.8. Again, we’re sub-50, so we’ve seen better days, and not so very long ago: February’s +52.7, the highest since June of 2022. Since mid-’22, we’ve been range-bound between +47 and +53.Construction Spending, going back to February, is expected to fetch +0.3%, swinging from a negative -0.2% the prior month. That January print was only the third negative headline of the past year, and the closest of those to flat. This metric has been oscillating a bit more than the others; we’re likely to get a better picture on Construction once we know what their materials are bound to cost.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.3% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks