As of April 17th, the S&P 500 has dipped from $5,243.77 to $5,029.63 (-4.08%). This is due to some of the major top performers of the 500 are looking at losses for the month. Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and stock sweetheart Nvidia are all down this month. Tesla is also down over 10%, as we discussed earlier this week how their layoffs are impacting the job market. Inflation for March was up to 3.5%, the highest since September of 2023 which was 3.7%.
Right now, the job market is confusing, and Christopher Rugaber of PBS reports that the Federal Reserve is being cautious with interest rate cuts due to higher-than-expected inflation rates. Unfortunately, there is too much ambiguity in the U.S. jobs and financial markets to bank on high-performing, at least in the short term. People are still waiting for some relief from high inflation rates, the uncertain job market, and a difficult housing market.