Market Update – April 21st, 2025

Financial Markets

Financial Markets
It was a quieter week on the economic data front, but Q1 earnings were in full swing. Stocks moved lower, with much of the decline coming on Wednesday following news that NVIDIA and AMD expect to incur sizable export-related charges, in addition to cautious remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. As of Thursday April 17th, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.66%, dragged lower by a sharp sell-off in UnitedHealth shares after an earnings miss. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.62%, while the S&P 500 declined 1.5% for the week. Bonds were positive for the week with the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index up 0.87%.

Source: Zacks

 
Market News

Retail Sales. Retail sales came in stronger than expected in March, as consumers appeared to front-load purchases ahead of the April 2nd tariffs, many of which have since been lowered from their original levels.
 
Month over month, retail sales rose 1.4% in March and were up 4.6% compared to a year ago. The largest contributor to the increase was auto sales, which jumped 5.3% from the previous month and 8.8% year-over-year. April’s post-tariff data will serve as an indicator of whether the March surge was primarily driven by tariff-related concerns or reflects a broader pickup in consumer spending.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

 
Nvidia & AMD. NVIDIA and AMD both issued warnings last week about the financial impact of new U.S. export restrictions to China. NVIDIA expects up to $5.5 billion in charges tied to halted shipments of its H20 chips, while AMD expects up to $800 million in similar charges. With growing regulatory headwinds and trade uncertainty, both stocks have underperformed year-to-date as investors grow more cautious about the outlook for chipmakers.

Source: Y-Charts

UnitedHealth Earnings Miss. Shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH) declined sharply last Thursday following a first-quarter earnings miss and downward revision to forward guidance, largely driven by higher-than-expected medical costs within its Medicare Advantage plans. The results raised broader concerns across the managed care space, with some analysts warning that elevated utilization trends could pressure margins for other insurers as well. UNH shares were down over 23% last week on the news.

Source: Y-Charts
 

Earnings. Q1 earnings season is underway, and markets are closely watching results for any signs of an economic slowdown. Reported earlier this month, bank earnings have come in largely better than expected, though not without a note of caution, with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon expressing concerns about a potential recession. As of Monday morning, 12% of S&P 500 companies had reported, posting year-over-year earnings growth of 9.1% in Q1, slightly above expectations. Looking forward, analysts project the remaining 88% of the index will report earnings growth of around 7.2%. This week ahead features reports from Tesla and Google, with Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple set to report next week.

Source: FundStrat, as of 4/21/25
 

Summary

Markets moved lower last week as earnings season picked up and tariff concerns lingered. Tech stocks declined following export-related charge warnings from NVIDIA and AMD, while an earnings miss from UnitedHealth weighed on the healthcare sector. March retail sales came in stronger than expected, though uncertainty remains around the sustainability of consumer demand.
 

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