2025, April 22 - April 28

According to Market Watch, the S&P 500, a gauge of American equities, was predicted to fall 0.9% in April, which is better than the 5.7% dip that occurred last month. The U.S. stock market had a difficult week. Investors were still unsure if the market had hit its bottom, despite this. Goldman Sachs strategist Vickie Chang warned that the markets have not yet reached their bottom, especially in light of the "new breed of shock" that is harder to forecast than previous bottoms. She said, unless the recession delays it, a potential market trough might occur in the third quarter of 2025. The economic horizon was also darkened by the U.S. economy shrinking by about 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025. The core PCE price index increased 3.5% added to investor jitters as the shrinkage coupled with ongoing inflationary pressures. Big corporations posted mixed reports: while Visa pointed to robust consumer spending, the likes of Starbucks and Super Micro Computer provided underwhelming outlooks. In spite of these, there were also instances of optimism. On April 28, Wall Street recovered from early losses, and the S&P 500 closed up 0.1%, its seventh consecutive day of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.1%. Such volatility mirrored the greater uncertainties that marked the month.

This week, the Trump administration saw both support and criticism: On the 101st day of his second term, Trump blamed former President Joe Biden for the poor performance of the stock market and the shrinkage of the U.S. economy, calling it the “Biden Overhang.” Trump predicted an economic boom driven by increased tariffs and the re-growth of domestic manufacturing. The Guardian reports, Among the most contentious policies was the intensified immigration crackdown. Thousands were arrested and deported on typically dubious legal grounds. Specifically, over 230 Venezuelans were deported to the brutal Salvadoran prisons without due process under the Alien Enemies Act, a source of constitutional and legal concern. Even U.S. citizens and children were not exempted, detained, or removed based on government error or questionable enforcement actions. On April 19, calling it the “Day of Action,” there were over 600 estimated protests, and the 50501 movement organized a country-wide enragement.