Stocks To Watch – 3/31/2025

 Brief Overview

Welcome back to this week’s Stocks to Watch!

With one more trading day left to close out March, we’re excited to see what April has in store! As always we’ll have our finger on the alert launcher ready to notify members of the best setups we find!

Looking back at last week…

Markets started the week on the upswing, with the S&P 500 up 0.5%, the Dow rising 0.4%, and the Nasdaq gaining 0.6%. Even with tariff talk swirling—specifically around imported cars and auto parts—investors stayed cautiously optimistic heading into the week.

The Consumer Confidence Index dipped to 96.5 from 101.0 in February, as people grew more uneasy about the economy. Trade tensions and inflation worries weighed on the vibe. The S&P 500 gave back a bit, closing down 0.3%.

President Trump dropped the news: a 25% tariff on all imported vehicles and auto parts, kicking in April 3. That hit the markets hard. The S&P 500 sank 1.7%, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.2%, with investors bracing for higher car prices and international pushback.

The Fed’s go-to inflation gauge—the PCE index—rose 0.4% in February, putting us over the central bank’s 2% target. Combine that with slowing spending, and you’ve got folks whispering “stagflation.” Markets kept sliding, with the S&P 500 down another 1.5%.

Markets closed out the week deep in the red: the S&P 500 fell 2%, the Dow lost 1.7%, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.7%. Between the auto tariffs, inflation pressure, and shaky consumer sentiment, investors stayed on the defensive. For the week, the S&P fell 1.5%, the Dow 1%, and the Nasdaq a hefty 2.6%.

Looking ahead…

This week was a bumpy ride. New auto tariffs and rising inflation stoked fears of stagflation, and the markets felt it. With more policy moves ahead and April 3 around the corner, expect volatility to stick around. Keep your seatbelt fastened.