President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement upended markets in April, briefly sending the S&P 500 into bear market territory, before a temporary pause on the most punitive tariffs sparked a relief rally. While equities recovered by month-end, investors now face a higher baseline of policy-driven risk, with soft data deteriorating and hard data showing early signs of strain.
Author: dss_AJD
Monthly Market Insights: April 2025
Markets traded lower in March as uncertainty around trade policy weighed on consumer and business sentiment. Trump’s April 2nd tariff announcement exacerbated the market selloff, causing most US equity indexes to reach bear market territory. The draconian change in trade policy has significantly raised the odds of a 2025 recession, while weakening sentiment and restrictive monetary policy should continue to weigh on risk assets.
Monthly Market Insights: March 2025
After months of post-election optimism, February saw a shift in sentiment as concerns over trade policy and government workforce reductions drove volatility. Growth stocks posted steep losses, while capital rotated into international markets. With uncertainty still elevated, markets may remain volatile in the months ahead.
Monthly Market Insights: February 2025
US stocks posted solid gains in January despite the Federal Reserve’s hawkish pivot and escalating geopolitical tensions generating intra-month volatility. The release of DeepSeek’s Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) model created short-term pressure on AI infrastructure stocks; however, we believe it should generate strong tailwinds across the AI landscape in the long term. Strong corporate profits, a healthy US consumer, and a firm labor market support our optimistic view on the economy and markets for 2025; however, escalating trade policy uncertainty will require investors to maintain caution through the year.
Market Outlook: Top Ten Investment Themes for 2025
Element Pointe is pleased to present our Market Outlook: Top Ten Investment Themes for 2025. In this piece, we highlight our views on the economy and explore some of the key topics that we believe will impact markets in 2025.
Monthly Market Insights: December 2024
With the election in the rear-view mirror, investors drove stock prices to all-time highs in November as enthusiasm builds for Trump’s low-tax and deregulation agenda.