Last week brought a series of economic indicators that painted a cautious picture of the current economic landscape. On Monday, the Conference Board reported a notable drop in the Consumer Confidence Index for April, which fell by 7.9 points to 86.0 — the lowest level since May 2020. This marked the fifth consecutive monthly decline, underscoring mounting pessimism about future business conditions, employment prospects, and income levels. Also on Monday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for March, showing job openings held steady at 7.2 million but were down by 901,000 from a year earlier. The stability in job openings and hires, coupled with an unchanged quit rate, pointed to a cooling labor market and heightened caution among workers.

U.S. equities rose this week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting their second-best weeks of the year. Both indices recorded their second weekly gain in the past three weeks following the significant early April selloff. For the week ending, April 25, 2025

U.S. equities experienced a downturn last week, reversing the sharp gains from the previous week. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices have now fallen for the third time in the last four weeks. Treasuries strengthened, leading to a steepening of the yield curve. For the week ending, April 18:

Market indexes continued to experience significant volatility as investors adjusted their future expectations in response to increasing global trade tensions.

Market indexes declined last week as investors adjusted their future expectations in response to increasing global trade tensions.

Market indices closed the week lower as markets grappled with weakening consumer confidence and April 2 tariffs on automotives.