Meltdown Thursday

Fresh news and strategies for traders. SPY Trader episode #1069.
Hey everyone, it's your pal Buck Naked here, and welcome to Spy Trader! It's 6 pm on Thursday, April 3rd, 2025, and boy oh boy, is the market having a meltdown. What do you call a group of stock traders who sing? A hedge choir. Let's dive into the chaos! So, today the market took a major nosedive. The Dow Jones tanked 1,679 points, that's 4%! The S&P 500 had its worst day since the COVID crash, dropping 4.8%, and the Nasdaq got absolutely hammered, down almost 6%. We're talking about roughly $2 trillion in market value just vanishing from the S&P 500. It's a bloodbath out there folks. Pretty much everything is down, but tech, banks, retailers, airlines, you name it, they're all getting crushed. Best Buy got smacked, down around 18%. United Airlines is down 16%, and even Nike is feeling the pain, also down 16%. Even Nvidia, the AI darling, took a hit, dropping almost 8%. The KBW Bank Index had its worst day since March 2023, down 10%. Only consumer staples and healthcare seemed to be having a decent day. Now, the big reason for all this panic? President Trump's new tariffs. He's slapped a 10% baseline tariff on everyone we trade with, and even higher tariffs on countries that tax our exports too much. Canada's already fired back with tariffs on our cars and car parts. People are worried this could spark a fullblown trade war, which would be bad news for everyone. GDP growth slowed down last quarter, and these tariffs are only going to make things worse. Some economists are even whispering the 'R' word – recession. Inflation is also expected to rise, so the Fed might have to cut interest rates to try and calm things down. So, what should you do? First, don't panic! Diversify your investments. Spread your money around. Think about moving some of your money into safer sectors like consumer staples and healthcare. Bonds might be a good idea too, since everyone's running for safety. Keep a longterm focus, and don't make rash decisions based on today's news. And hey, maybe talk to a financial advisor, they might have some good ideas tailored to your situation. Also, keep an eye on those international developed markets. They have been doing very well and it might be a good time to move some investments into those. That's all for today, folks. Stay safe out there, and remember, this too shall pass. Buck Naked, signing off!