Stock Market Recap: Volatility and Growth on March 17, 2025

Market Performance Snapshot

The stock market displayed a complex performance on Monday, March 17, 2025. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.7%, closing at 41,488.19, with significant movements across various sectors Twenty-four components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while six ended in negative#/b#

Index Breakdown

– S&P 500: Advanced 2.1% to 5,638.94 points
– Nasdaq Composite: Declined 2.6% to 17,754.09 points
– Dow Jones Industrial Average: Gained 1.7% to 41,488.19 points The S&P 500 advanced 117.42 points, or 2.1%, to close at 5,638.94. Each of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green#/b#

Sector Performance

Top-performing sectors included:
– Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK): +3%
– Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE): +3%
– Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF): +2.3% The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) and the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) rose 3%, 3% and 2.3%, respectively#/b#

Stock Highlights

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) emerged as a standout performer, with its stock price surging 5.3% The major gainer of the Dow was NVIDIA Corporation NVDA. The stock price of this computing infrastructure company rose 5.3%#/b#

Economic Indicators

Consumer sentiment showed signs of strain:
– University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment: Dropped to 57.9 in March
– Previous month’s reading: 64.7
– Indication of increased economic uncertainty Per the University of Michigan, preliminary consumer sentiment for March decreased to 57.9 from 64.7 reported in February#/b#

Market Volatility

– CBOE Volatility Index (VIX): Decreased 11.7% to 21.77
– Total shares traded: 14.64 billion (below 20-session average) The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 11.7% to 21.77. A total of 14.64 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 16.56 billion#/b#

Upcoming Market Events

Key dates to watch:
– March 18: Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (GTC)
– March 19: Federal Reserve FOMC Meeting Nvidia GTC on March 17–21, with keynote address March 18. 2 p.m. FOMC Meeting 2 p.m. Fed Funds Target Upper Bound#/b#

Weekly Context

Recent market performance:
– Dow: Fell 3.1% in last seven trading days
– S&P 500 and Nasdaq: Extended losing streaks to four weeks In the last seven trading days, the Dow fell 3.1%, marking its worst week since March 2023. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq declined more than 2%, extending their losing streaks to four weeks#/b#

Investor Insights

– Market showing mixed signals
– Technology and energy sectors demonstrate resilience
– NVIDIA continues to be a key performer
– Upcoming Fed meeting and tech conference crucial for market sentiment