empty
24.03.2025 10:23 AM
The Market Fell Into a Pit It Dug for Others

What drives the markets? Fear? Greed? At the moment, disappointment is far more significant. Investors are realizing that Donald Trump's tariff policy will not lead to anything good, and the loss of American exceptionalism is triggering capital outflows from the U.S., keeping the S&P 500 under pressure. According to Morningstar, investors added about $2 billion on a net basis to American funds investing in European stocks in January and February.

Capital flow trends into Europe-focused ETFs

This image is no longer relevant

The continued rise of stock indices in Europe suggests that markets do not believe White House tariffs will trigger a recession across the Atlantic. Perhaps the risks of a trade war are being underestimated. The upcoming new round of import tariffs, which the U.S. administration is expected to announce on April 2, seemed to knock the S&P 500 to the floor. However, rumors of a more limited scope of protectionism allowed the broad equity index to rise from the ashes.

According to Bloomberg insiders, tariffs in April will target two groups of countries: those with significant trade surpluses with the U.S. and those whose tariffs against the U.S. are deemed too high. The blacklist, or as Scott Bessent puts it, the "Dirty 15" list, includes Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and others.

The fewer the tariffs, the less the disappointment. Donald Trump promised to accelerate the U.S. economy, yet Wall Street Journal experts are now downgrading their U.S. GDP forecasts from over 2% to 1–1.5% for 2025. The same goes for the OECD, Fitch Ratings, and the Federal Reserve. The Republican's policy is aimed at creating problems for other countries, but in reality, thanks to fiscal stimulus, Europe is gaining momentum, and China intends to meet its ambitious 5% growth target in 2025.

Adding to the disappointment is the loss of American exceptionalism. Investors increasingly recall that U.S.-issued securities are fundamentally overpriced and that a bubble has formed in the market—similar to the dot-com bubble at the turn of the 21st century. Twenty-five years ago, the S&P 500 rally was also driven by technology, specifically the internet. Now, that role has been taken over by artificial intelligence.

S&P 500 performance in different years

This image is no longer relevant

This image is no longer relevant

A quarter-century ago, the broad equity index collapsed. It only returned to record highs in 2007. Today, the S&P 500 has risen 72% from its October 2022 low to record highs. Then came a 10% drop, and few expect the stock market to recover before the second half of 2025.

Technically, forming a candlestick with a long lower shadow on the S&P 500 daily chart signals that the bulls may be ready to counterattack. The 5670 level remains the red line. Above this level, buying becomes a sensible strategy. Conversely, if it falls below, selling is the appropriate action.

Marek Petkovich,
Analytical expert of InstaForex
© 2007-2025
Select timeframe
5
min
15
min
30
min
1
hour
4
hours
1
day
1
week
Earn on cryptocurrency rate changes with InstaForex
Download MetaTrader 4 and open your first trade
  • Grand Choice
    Contest by
    InstaForex
    InstaForex always strives to help you
    fulfill your biggest dreams.
    JOIN CONTEST

Recommended Stories

Market fears nothing

The S&P 500 reached another all-time high, with rotation being the hallmark of the US equity market. Investors are aggressively buying up stocks that underperformed in the first half

Marek Petkovich 10:50 2025-07-11 UTC+2

What to Watch for on July 11th? A Fundamental Overview for Beginners

There are very few macroeconomic publications scheduled for Friday, but the volume is still greater than on any previous day this week. The UK will release GDP and industrial production

Paolo Greco 08:50 2025-07-11 UTC+2

GBP/USD Overview on July 11, 2025

The GBP/USD currency pair failed to consolidate above the moving average on Thursday, so the correction continues for now. Throughout Thursday, the GBP/USD pair was unable to hold above

Paolo Greco 07:15 2025-07-11 UTC+2

EUR/USD Overview on July 11, 2025

The EUR/USD currency pair spent Thursday calmly drifting lower. We continue to wait for the current correction to end and for the uptrend to resume. To be fair, this correction

Paolo Greco 07:08 2025-07-11 UTC+2

XAU/USD. Analysis and Forecast

Gold prices are maintaining positive momentum for the second consecutive day. Ongoing uncertainty surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy and its impact on the global economy continues to weigh

Irina Yanina 19:24 2025-07-10 UTC+2

USD/CHF. Analysis and Forecast

Today, the USD/CHF pair retraced part of its decline from a new weekly low recorded during the Asian session and has temporarily paused its downward movement, stopping short

Irina Yanina 12:26 2025-07-10 UTC+2

Market dupes sellers

The split within the Federal Reserve, NVIDIA's successes, and a successful auction of 10-year US Treasury bonds allowed the S&P 500 to ignore the tariff chaos. Donald Trump announced tariffs

Marek Petkovich 12:02 2025-07-10 UTC+2

What to Watch on July 10th: Fundamental Event Overview for Beginners

Macroeconomic Report Analysis: There are very few macroeconomic publications scheduled for Thursday, and none of them are expected to be significant. So what could traders focus on today? The second

Paolo Greco 09:07 2025-07-10 UTC+2

GBP/USD Overview on July 10, 2025

On Wednesday, the GBP/USD currency pair maintained its downward movement, which is corrective in nature and could end at any moment. The price remained below the moving average line

Paolo Greco 07:26 2025-07-10 UTC+2

EUR/USD Overview on July 10, 2025

The EUR/USD currency pair continued to trade very calmly on Wednesday. The pair maintained a slight downward bias, as we've noted in all of our recent articles. However, the current

Paolo Greco 07:16 2025-07-10 UTC+2
Can't speak right now?
Ask your question in the chat.
Widget callback
 

Dear visitor,

Your IP address shows that you are currently located in the USA. If you are a resident of the United States, you are prohibited from using the services of InstaFintech Group including online trading, online transfers, deposit/withdrawal of funds, etc.

If you think you are seeing this message by mistake and your location is not the US, kindly proceed to the website. Otherwise, you must leave the website in order to comply with government restrictions.

Why does your IP address show your location as the USA?

  • - you are using a VPN provided by a hosting company based in the United States;
  • - your IP does not have proper WHOIS records;
  • - an error occurred in the WHOIS geolocation database.

Please confirm whether you are a US resident or not by clicking the relevant button below. If you choose the wrong option, being a US resident, you will not be able to open an account with InstaForex anyway.

We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by this message.