The Market Dances to the Tariff Tarantella

The only news that matters to the market currently is tariffs. There was another weak open on concerns about the impact of tariffs on Canada and Mexico, but a midday announcement that the tariffs on automobile companies would be delayed for a month lifted the gloom.

There was some OK economic news, but bonds sold off on higher-than-expected prices-paid data. The market didn’t seem to care much about an uptick in interest rates as it stayed focused on the tariff issue.

It was a healthy day of gains, with the Magnificent Seven MAGS regaining about 1.85% and the Nasdaq 100 QQQ up 1.3%. The other major indices all gained around 1% with better than two-to-one positive.

The action on Wednesday is a good illustration of the fact that the best bounces tend to occur in the context of the worst markets. It has been a struggle recently, so when the gloom is lifted, there is a rush to add some exposure. No one wants to miss out on a major market turn.

Quite often, these bounces fizzle out quickly, but they do have a tendency to last long enough to entice some buyers before they reverse.

As things stand right now, there isn’t any major tariff news coming until April 2, but there is a high risk of more tariff headlines that will trigger another rush for the indices.

Technically, stocks are in rough shape and need more work to develop support. I reviewed hundreds of charts on Wednesday and found very little that I wanted to rush to buy. On the other hand, there are some good values, and with a little more consolidation, there will be some attractive entry points.

Have a good evening. I’ll see you tomorrow.

At the time of publication, DePorre had no positions in any securities mentioned.