Record Winning Streak over for Stock Market Index

Friday last week marked the longest winning streak in 20 years for the S&P 500 stock market index, but Monday brought an end to that historic run with a decline of 0.64%. The Federal Reserve meeting coming later this week has already stirred up fear about where the stock market is headed, and that in part halted the S&P 500’s historic positive streak. The Dow Jones also fell on Monday, ending the day with a decline of 0.24%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped by 0.74%, adding to investors’ dread. The good news is that most of the ground lost since President Donald Trump took office has been claimed back by the stock markets. The Nasdaq is almost back to where it was at the beginning of the year. The Dow Jones has not quite made up that lost ground, but it is higher now than it has been throughout all of last month. March was the hardest month so far for the stock market in 2025, with tariffs creating fear in the market and driving down guidance from a number of companies and bringing stock prices low. However, the stock markets still stayed well above their lowest points from 2024, meaning the economy is getting better, even when it looked dark in March. If the stock market can still stay high even when fears over the economy, a recession, and the trade war are so prevalent, then it looks like Trump may be on track to improve the economy over the long term. There are some outlier stocks that are behaving differently from the majority of the stock market, and Tesla ( TSLA ) is probably the most notable. Despite the boost this company received when Trump won the election and when he was sworn in, the Tesla stock price is only barely above its 2024 average. However, this is due primarily to political backlash against the company rather than a tightening of the economy. Apple ( AAPL ) is above its three-year low but on par with its average for 2024. This is a company that will face some of the stiffest pressure from tariffs because of its partnership with Chinese companies and its massive consumer base in Asia. However, the extremely high tariffs issued by the United States and China have not sunk the company’s stock below last year’s lows, except for a brief period at the beginning of last month. Walmart (WMT) gives a better indication of wider market trends, with its steady upward movement hampered by only some short term lows in February and March of 2024. The retail sector will likely continue to perform well even if the trade war intensifies, although there are indications that China and the United States may be ready to negotiate on tariffs very soon.