Stock Market Today: Stocks bounce back on shutdown optimism; Gold tops $3,000

Updated at 4:45 PM EDT by Rob Lenihan

Stocks ended higher Friday as investors took heart that a government shutdown might be avoided while eyeing developments in the burgeoning global trade war.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 674.62 points, or 1.65%, to finish the session at 41,488.19, while the S&P 500 gained 2.13% to close at 5,638.94, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 2.61% to end the day at 17,754.09.

It was the best day in 2025 for both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

The Dow fell roughly 3.1% for its worst week since March 2023, CNBC reported. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both dropped more than 2% and posted their fourth consecutive losing week.

Meanwhile, Tesla warned that it and other major American exporters are exposed to retaliatory tariffs that could be leveled in response to President Donald Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs, according to Reuters.

The comments were made in an unsigned letter on Tesla letterhead to United States Trade Representative Jamison Greer.

“U.S. exporters are inherently exposed to disproportionate impacts when other countries respond to U.S. trade actions,” Tesla said in the letter. 

“For example, past trade actions by the United States have resulted in immediate reactions by the targeted countries, including increased tariffs on EVs imported into those countries.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump, has been leading the White House effort to shrink the size of the federal government. The billionaire heads up the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

Updated at 12:20 PM EDT

Firming rally

Stocks are rallying firmly into the afternoon session, with the S&P 500 up 88 points, or 1.64%, and the Nasdaq powering 357 points, or 2.06% 

“The CPI and PPI both came in cooler than expected this week, but today’s data suggests some consumers aren’t necessarily feeling optimistic about the economy or the trajectory of inflation,” said Chris Larkin, managing director for trading and investing at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley. 

“Last month the stock market stumbled more than once on negative sentiment surprises,” he added. “But it remains to be seen whether they will have the same effect this time around, since the market has already pulled back notably from its highs.”

The S&P 500 is down 6.1% in the first 48 trading days of 2025, among the worst starts to a year since 1928. Does that mean stocks will end the year in the red? Not necessarily. We see big comebacks in markets all the time. Most recent example: 2020. $SPX pic.twitter.com/6tmlapYyzl

— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) March 14, 2025

Updated at 10:08 AM EDT

Sentiment slump

The University of Michigan’s benchmark consumer sentiment survey for the month of March fell just under 7 points to 57.9 points, well shy of Wall Street’s 63 point forecast, while year-ahead inflation expectations surged 60 basis points to 4.9%.

Long-term inflation forecasts, meanwhile rose 40 basis points to 3.9%, the highest reading since the early 1990s.

UMich Consumer Expectations – one of the worst since the GFC, lowest since July 2022 pic.twitter.com/YmlhVZCrYb

— Mike Zaccardi, CFA, CMT 🍖 (@MikeZaccardi) March 14, 2025

Updated at 9:42 AM EDT

Friday gains

The S&P 500 was marked 65 points, or 1.17% higher in the opening minutes of trading while the Nasdaq gained 307 points, or 1.78%. 

The Dow gained 270 points while the mid-cap Russell 2000 rose 24 points, or 1.18%.

Related: Fed rate cut bets won’t be cemented by soft inflation data

Updated at 7:25 AM EDT

All that glitters …

Gold prices topped the $3,000 mark for the first time on record in early Friday trading, rising 0.4% on the session to take the bullion’s year-to-date gain past 14.4% amid renewed safe-haven demand tied to global trade war concerns.

Spot gold hit a fresh all-time peak of $3,000.39 per ounce and were last marked at around $2,996.47 per ounce, with silver trading at $33.96 per ounce, the highest since October.

“Overall, both metals, and their miners, continue to benefit from investors seeking safer assets due to concerns about the economic impact of Trump’s aggressive tariffs agenda,” said Ole Hansen , head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. “In addition, demand from central banks and inflows into ETFs continue.”   

…and now it does. What an amazing non-stop rally pic.twitter.com/ExGG1c9x0J

— Ole S Hansen (@Ole_S_Hansen) March 14, 2025

Stock Market Today

Stocks ended sharply lower again last night, pulling the S&P 500 into correction territory, defined as a 10% pullback from a recent high, in the fastest such move since the Covid pandemic and the seventh-fastest since 1929. 

With the Nasdaq having suffered a similar correction retreat last week, U.S. stocks have now erased more than $5 trillion in market value in less than a month, an astonishing pullback tied directly to the economic and tariff policies of President Donald Trump.

“At the start of the year, investors were anticipating a growth-friendly administration that would reinforce the narrative of U.S. exceptionalism and enact policies likely to strengthen the U.S. economy relative to the rest of the world,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.

“However, policy has not panned out quite as expected. Not only has the sequencing of economic policies been different, but the tariff policy proposals have been considerably more severe than anticipated,” she added. “With policy uncertainty extraordinarily elevated, the U.S. economy has already begun to be negatively impacted.”

Gold prices were back on record watch in the overnight session as safe-haven buying extended the bullion’s weekly gain to around 2.6% and put it on pace to test the $3,000 mark later next week. 

In equity markets, however, investors are looking for bargains in the early Friday session. The prospect of a government shutdown faded overnight after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer indicated he and some of his Democratic colleagues would support a Republican stopgap funding bill.

Related: Another U.S. bank warns on stocks amid $4 trillion market rout

That optimism was somewhat tempered, however, by the lack of progress in reaching a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, with Russian President Vladimir Putin indicating tepid support on the basis of concerns that it would allow Ukraine’s military to regroup.

Still, stocks look set for solid early gains, even with a modest nudge higher in Treasury yields and a firmer U.S. dollar. Futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggested an opening-bell gain of around 45 points.

The Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 205 points higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average poised for a 235-point advance. 

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In Europe, the Stoxx 600 benchmark rose 0.55% in midday Frankfurt trading but remains on pace for a 2% decline for the week. That’s amid the tit-for-tat tariff threats, the latest of which includes Trump’s consideration of a 200% levy on wine and spirit exports to the U.S.

Britain’s FTSE 100 was also higher, up 0.3% in London, but a surprise contraction in January GDP underscored the broader economy’s challenges heading into the Spring Budget Statement from Chancellor Rachel Reeves later this month.

Overnight in Asia, the regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark rose 0.81% into the close of trading on bets that the avoidance of a U.S. government shutdown would spark a Friday rally on Wall Street. 

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.72% to take the benchmark’s weekly gain to 0.45%, the first advance in four, with chip and tech stocks pacing the session.

Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast

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