Market Musings 2/27/2025
Quick thoughts on the markets and major portfolio news. Not on Ursa yet? Download Ursa from the App Store!
Stocks continue to fall on more #Tariffs talk
The S&P 500 has fallen almost -5% from the recent all-time high set just mid last week. The losses compounded on weaker #LaborMarkets data and more #Tariffs.
So first, #LaborMarkets.
This week’s jobless claims spiked 10% from the prior week. While it’s just a single week of data, jobless claims had been more range-bound recently and investors were likely already on edge from the recent weak #ConsumerConfidence data.
But, then came more #Tariffs.
The White House announced Canada and Mexico’s 25% #Tariffs would move forward next week. In addition, China’s #Tariffs will be bumped by 10% more to 20%.
This was a double shocker for markets after some mixed wires were crossed and had markets expecting another month delay was the plan. This sent markets tumbling on Thursday.
So, the #Tariffs trade is tricky.
There’s still several days before Canada and Mexico’s go into effect. So we could see negotiations still for another delay. It seems Mexico is already moving forward giving up cartel members to US authorities.
We’re sort of expecting a rinse and repeat each month with the US threatening #Tariffs, then delaying them yet again after concessions are made.
And, we see this working… until it doesn’t. At some point, Canada and Mexico can’t or won’t provide enough concessions and we see the White House likely calling their bluff to not show weakness.
However, even with #Tariffs delayed near-term, we still expect this to continue to erode #ConsumerConfidence. In addition, more uncertainty for businesses may impact #LaborMarkets with lower hiring near-term and increase layoffs.
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The statements, opinions and analyses presented here are provided as general information. This article is the opinion of the author. Anything within this article should NOT be considered an investment recommendation or advice. See Ursa’s full disclosures here.
Original Photo by Pixabay.