Stocks Continue Slide

[bjl584]

Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq fall with latest tariff threats, inflation data in focus

[disneysteve]

No surprises here. A nonsensical trade war only hurts US businesses and consumers.

Now he wants to put a 200% tariff on foreign wine and champagne, saying it will help US wine and champagne companies. That makes absolutely no sense. It certainly isn't going to help US importers, retailers, bars, and restaurants, who depend on handling those products. And there is no such thing as US champagne. Add that to the tariff on aluminum which is making beer and soda and other canned beverage prices rise and he's killing that market too.

[ua_guy]

No surprises. And this doesn't even cover all the reasons:

Actual tariffs and threats of more tariffs with more trading partners.
Rapidly disintegrating foreign relations.
Ukraine instability.
Gaza instability.
Impending government funding showdown.
Government funding cuts already affecting output.
Incoming jobs data will include the most recent government firings, with more on the way.
Rapidly increasing consumer pessimism.
Rumblings of bad revenue numbers ahead of Q1 close.

[kork13]

For better or worse, I've been too busy to pay attention to the market. My weekly investment purchases continue uninterrupted, so I'll be taking some advantage of the discount shares on the way down, for however far "down" that might be.

Looking back, I guess I'm lucky to have shifted nearly half of my taxable investments into some real estate investments back in December. Turns out I got it out pretty close to the top... But although I'm not optimistic about the near-term prospects of the market, I have no fear about its viability over the long term. Even as influential as Trump may be, he's on a ticking clock. This too shall pass.

[srblanco7]

The top 10% of earners account for roughly 50% of consumer discretionary spending. And for these households, their perception of their how they are doing, can be largely based on market performance.

A spending pullback by these households will certainly impact GDP and may be a factor in moving us toward a recession.

A good time for me to review my IPS and remind myself that my investment horizon is 30 years and not the next 4 years.

[disneysteve]

The top 10% of earners account for roughly 50% of consumer discretionary spending. And for these households, their perception of their how they are doing, can be largely based on market performance.

A spending pullback by these households will certainly impact GDP and may be a factor in moving us toward a recession.

Great point. When the stock market comes up, a lot of people point out that the average person doesn't care about the stock market, but this is exactly why they should. Plus the fact that in various surveys, the percentage of people who said they don't own stock was falsely low because people don't understand their 401k or even their company pension is invested in stock. They may not have actively and directly purchased shares but they do own them all the same and are impacted by market performance.