Friday Afternoon Coffee - Markets Update - 25 Apr 2025 - Stocks Inch Higher as Trade War Tensions Ease; Dollar Posts Weekly Gain

The Trade Academy Team
Apr 25
2 min read

Markets Update: Stocks crept higher Friday as easing fears around the U.S.-China trade conflict buoyed sentiment, while the dollar strengthened to cap its first weekly rise in over a month.

Global Markets Roundup: 25 Apr 2025

Markets found support after China exempted certain U.S. goods from steep tariffs, though Beijing dismissed claims by President Donald Trump that new negotiations were underway. Despite persistent uncertainty over the broader impact of tariff policies, investors welcomed signs that the worst outcomes might be avoided.

Stocks Edge Up as Wall Street Eyes Weekly Gains

Major U.S. indexes posted modest gains in choppy trading, with Alphabet leading the way after strong earnings.

Dow Jones Industrial Average: -132.71 points (-0.33%) to 39,960.69
S&P 500: +4.96 points (+0.09%) to 5,489.56
Nasdaq Composite: +55.24 points (+0.32%) to 17,221.29

Shares of Alphabet (GOOG) rose 1.7% after the company surpassed profit forecasts and reaffirmed its ambitious AI investment plans. European shares also posted a strong week, with the STOXX 600 climbing more than 2%. MSCI’s global stock gauge ticked up 0.19% to 821.40, while Japan’s Nikkei surged 1.8% on Friday, recovering fully from its post-tariff announcement losses.

Dollar Gains Ground, Gold Retreats

The dollar staged a rebound after weeks of turbulence driven by trade policy uncertainty, advancing modestly against both the euro and yen.

Dollar Index DXY: +0.05% to 99.47
Euro EURUSD: -0.04% to $1.1384
Yen USDJPY: +0.77% to 143.72
Gold (GOLD): -1.94% to $3,283.21/oz

Gold, which had soared earlier this year as a safe-haven asset, pulled back sharply.

Oil prices firmed modestly amid continued geopolitical uncertainty:

WTI Crude (CL1!): +0.19% to $62.91/barrel
Brent Crude (BRN1!): +0.24% to $66.71/barrel

Agricultural Commodities Mixed

Grain markets were mixed as weather patterns shifted across key growing regions.

Corn (ZC1!): +1 cent to $4.85/bushel
Soybeans (ZS1!): -3¼ cents to $10.58¾/bushel
Wheat (ZW1!): +½ cent to $5.45/bushel.

Looking forward, refer to the economic calendar below to see the upcoming events scheduled for today and the rest of the week.

General news - Information source from multiple newswires.

The article and the data is for general information use only, not advice!

The Trade Academy Team