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Although the trading week was abbreviated because of the Good Friday holiday, it wasn’t short on drama. Wednesday provided the first bit of important information as core and overall retail sales data was released that morning.

For the month of March, retail core sales were up .5 percent compared to an expected increase of .4 percent. Overall retail sales were up 1.4 percent compared to an expected 1.3 percent. This was in spite of the fact that many believed that retail sales would soften in the face of Trump’s tariffs.

However, some believe that the positive number occurred thanks to consumers scrambling to make purchases before they went into effect. Although there is evidence in the retail sales report to suggest that this isn’t the full story, it’s hard to believe that people weren’t buying, at least in part to beat higher prices in the future.

Whether the March report is indicative of anything won’t be known for another month or two. By then, any lasting consequences should be reflected in future reports, and if consumers act anything like investors did in April, it may be fair to draw a line between tariffs and consumer behavior.

Also on Wednesday, Jerome Powell made some prepared remarks about the economy and fiscal policy. He said that the labor market is strong and that the Fed’s dual mandates were not in conflict at the moment. In addition to ensuring price stability, the Fed is also tasked with ensuring full employment.

It’s believed that tariffs will lead to inflation and higher unemployment, which would force the Fed to decide which of their goals is more important at the moment. Of course, President Trump wants interest rates to come down no matter what as the EU and other central banks have eased policy.

President Trump has also threatened to get rid of Powell if he doesn’t do what he asks. It’s worth noting that Powell’s term is over in 13 months, and at that point, Trump can replace Powell with few questions asked.

On Thursday, the last scheduled significant news announcement was made regarding unemployment claims data. Over the last seven days, there were 215,000 requests for benefits compared to an expected 225,000 requests.

The S&P 500 closed at 5,282, which represents a gain of about three points over the past five trading days. The index hit a high of 5,443 on Monday morning before reversing and heading back toward last Friday’s low of 5,224. On Wednesday, the market made its low of the week at roughly that same number before reversing and gaining ground into Thursday’s close.

The Dow finished about 377 points lower for the week to close at 39,142. Like the S&P, the Dow made a high of the week on Monday but made its low of the week on Thursday. The Monday high was 40,746 while the Thursday morning low was 39,040.

Finally, the Nasdaq followed the other two indexes by making its high of the week on Monday morning. After peaking at 17,001, the index reversed and made a low of 16,106 on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday, the index closed at 16,286, which represents a drop of 1.12 percent over the last five trading days.

There were a number of important news announcements from outside the United States that might be of interest to American investors. Canada announced on Tuesday that its monthly inflation reading came in at .3 percent while the median CPI came in at 2.9 percent. On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada (BOC) announced that the country’s key interest rate would remain at 2.75 percent.

On Wednesday night, Australia announced that its unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 percent over the past month. Finally, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that the main refinancing rate would fall from 2.65 percent to 2.4 percent.

The upcoming week should be another consequential one as the Flash Manufacturing PMI and Flash Services PMI are set to be released on Wednesday. Unemployment claims data is scheduled to be released Thursday while the University of Michigan will release consumer sentiment and inflation expectation figures.

The first full trading week in April was chaotic as markets swung wildly any time news about tariffs was released. On Monday, the indexes had their largest daily range since March 2020 after a report came out saying that Donald Trump was considering a 90-day pause on most tariffs. Markets rallied after the report came out and then fell again after it was revealed that the report was not correct.

However, on Wednesday, it was announced that Trump was putting a 90-day pause on most reciprocal tariffs. The 10 percent flat tariff on all countries remains in effect while China was hit with a tariff of up to 145 percent. Existing tariffs on goods coming to the United States from Mexico and Canada also remained in place. News of the pause caused indexes to rally as much as 10 percent, which marked one of the best days for equities since World War II.
Although tariff talk dominated the market this week, they were not the only thing that moved prices. On Thursday, inflation data for the month and year were made public. In March, inflation actually fell by .1 percent compared to an expected increase of .1 percent. On an annualized basis, inflation was 2.4 percent compared to a predicted 2.5 percent.

Also on Thursday, unemployment claim data for the last seven days was made public, and during the past week, 223,000 people sought benefits, which was in line with analyst predictions.

On Friday, the Price Producers Index (PPI) came out and found that prices were down .4 percent in March. Core PPI was down .1 percent compared to an expected increase of .3 percent. Finally on Friday, the University of Michigan released its consumer sentiment and inflation expectations report. Consumer sentiment came in at 50.8, which was the lowest in several years. Meanwhile, respondents expect the inflation rate to soar to 6.7 percent in the next 12 months.

The S&P 500 had flirted with bear market territory early in the week as it opened at 4,883 on Monday morning. This would be the low of the week as it made a massive move to the upside on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday afternoon, the market hit its high of the week at 5,459. For the week, the index gained 477 points, which is an increase of 9.78 percent from Monday’s open.

The Dow also started the week at its lowest point opening at 36,751 on Monday morning. It would also make a significant move to the upside on Tuesday and Wednesday hitting a high of 40,586. On Friday, the market closed at 40,212, which was an increase of 9.39 percent from Monday’s opening price.

Finally, the Nasdaq followed the other two major indexes lower to start the week. On Monday, the market opened at 14,845 before making significant gains the next few days. By Wednesday afternoon, the index roared to a high of 17,107 before reversing to close at 16,724, which was a gain of 12.57 percent from Monday’s opening.

In international news, the European Union (EU) and China both imposed retaliatory tariffs on the United States. The EU has paused those tariffs after Trump paused the tariffs against countries in that bloc.

The upcoming week is sure to be another interesting one as there are several news announcements on the schedule. Retail sales data is due to be released on Wednesday while unemployment claims data comes out on Thursday. Jerome Powell will speak on Wednesday afternoon, which is almost certainly going to gin up some market volatility.