Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on March 20, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
The S&P 500 fell on Thursday as the index attempted to build on the previous session’s strong gains, while some solid housing data assuaged some concerns about the U.S. economy falling into a recession.
The S&P 500 traded 0.3% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4%, as Apple shares came under pressure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered around the flatline.
New economic data released Thursday showed that economic worries might actually be overblown. Data from the National Association of Realtors showed that sales of previously owned homes in February rose 4.2% from January, while industry analysts had expected a 3% drop. Additionally, jobless claims were only up slightly last week while layoffs remain low.
That comes after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the economy is “strong overall” and that he believes its policy is in a “good place” to react to any signs of weakness in economic data. He also labeled the potential effect of tariffs on inflation as likely being short-lived or transitory.
“Bull markets don’t die of old age. They die of fright, and what they’re most afraid of is recession,” said Sam Stovall, CFRA Research’s chief investment strategist. “We’re at crossroads, but I think that the market is basically saying, Okay, we’re still on path for a rate cut in June, and we’re not going to worry about it because right now the economy is holding up pretty well.”
“In general, investors feel fairly optimistic that we are not headed for bad times and that, if anything, right now the market is overreacting to the downside,” he added.
Stocks rebounded Wednesday following the latest Fed meeting, at which the central bank forecast two interest rate cuts this year and held the federal funds rate in a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. However, it also raised its inflation outlook and lowered its economic growth projection. Traders largely expect the Fed to not make any moves, however, before officials see the impact of tariffs.
The S&P 500, which briefly slipped into correction territory last week, is now more than 7% off its record high. Over the past month, it’s declined around 7%.
As White House tariff policies rattled markets earlier this month, President Donald Trump said the economy could see “a period of transition.” A tariff exemption on select Canadian and Mexican imports expires April 2.
“Should we find that the tariff talk is indeed more rhetoric than reality, meaning that Trump does not go overboard on April 2, that could result in a positive jolt for the market,” Stovall also said.