Wall Street Rollercoaster: Stocks Plunge Amid Tariff Tensions and Earnings Reports

Opening Bell Blues: Markets Dive, Then Recover

U.S. stocks kicked off Friday with a nosedive, following a wild ride in futures that soared and then crashed, all thanks to a cocktail of earnings reports, tariffs, and fresh economic data. The S&P 500 took a 0.44% hit, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.2% right out of the gate. But don't count these markets out just yet—buyers swooped in like superheroes, pushing the major indices back into the green. It's anyone's guess where the market will end up today, judging by the recent rollercoaster ride.

Volatility's Last Stand: Dow Jones Takes a Hit

As this week of market madness winds down, the Dow Jones Industrial Average got slammed, shedding nearly 400 points and wiping out gains from mid-week. Wall Street's latest slump comes hot on the heels of China cranking up tariffs on U.S. imports to a whopping 125%, in response to President Donald Trump's 145% hammer on Chinese goods. But here's a twist: Beijing's signaling they won't go beyond that 125%, with the new rates set to kick in on Saturday, April 12, 2025. It's this tariff tug-of-war and bank earnings that got futures tied to U.S. stocks all fired up, according to Citi's chief investment officer of wealth, Kate Moore.

Banks Drop Earnings Bombshells

"I want to believe that (futures) are modestly up because they think they're going to see decent numbers coming out of the banks that report today," Kate Moore told CNBC's Squawk Box. And she was right—stocks are feeling the squeeze from tariffs, but it's been a solid start to earnings season, with Wall Street's big guns rolling out their first-quarter reports.

JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and BlackRock all dropped their earnings before the market opened, flaunting their profits. JPMorgan flexed with a net income of $14.6 billion and earnings per share of $5.07 in Q1. And guess what? These stocks were up in premarket trading, with JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and BlackRock all seeing gains.

Producer Price Index Throws a Curveball

But it's not just earnings stirring the pot—the market's also got to chew on the latest producer price index data for March, which took a surprising dip from February. U.S. March PPI tumbled 0.4% month-over-month, marking the biggest drop since October 2023. Analysts had been betting on a 0.2% rise. Meanwhile, U.S. PPI nudged up 2.7% year-over-year in March, falling short of the expected 3.3% and the previous 3.2%.

This data landed just a day after Thursday's consumer price index release, which showed a month-on-month drop to 2.4%. But with tariff jitters ruling the roost, the market barely batted an eye at the CPI numbers.

Gold Rushes to All-Time Highs Amid Market Mayhem

Despite the week's tariff-induced rollercoaster, the S&P 500 is still on track for a green weekly candle, thanks to Wednesday's wild ride when risk assets went bonkers on Trump's initial 90-day tariff pause. But don't expect the uncertainty to vanish overnight without a major catalyst. With the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbing above 4.41% and the dollar index taking a nosedive, investors are flocking to gold for safety. The precious metal's just hit a new all-time high, soaring above $3,200.