Market update

The end of April 2025 marked the end of one of the most volatile months for markets in recent memory.

• The dollar posted its worst performance since November 2022, contracting -4.6%.
• The S&P 500 closed the month down -0.8%, marking the third consecutive month of declines. But the end figure doesn’t begin to describe the intra-month volatility. The large-cap index suffered a -12.1% intra-month decline. No month in the history of the S&P 500 has had at least a 10% intra-month decline and subsequent recovery to positive territory. April 2025 came close, that included a +11.8% recovery from the trough and a +9.5% single-day return on April 9th when “Liberation Day” tariffs were delayed for 90 days, recording the best single day performance since 2008. Those moves caused the level on the CBOE Volatility (VIX) index (a measure of large cap equity volatility) to spike to over 55 – the highest level since COVID-19.
• Volatility didn’t just exist in the equity markets; the 10-year Treasury increased about 50 basis points for the week ending April 11, which is the largest weekly increase since 2001. Since then, longer-dated yields have declined nearly 40 basis points to finish the month up about 12 basis points. In the corporate debt space, issuance slowed in April. U.S. Domestic high-yield issuance stands at $7.9 billion month-to-date (as of April 23), marking the slowest April since 2008.
• Gold gained for the fourth consecutive month, closing +5.3% higher and is up +25% year-to-date. Oil (-16%) had its worst month since November 2021 amid fears of reduced demand caused by a potential economic slowdown as well as OPEC+ plans to increase output.

In macro news, U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) declined -0.3% in Q1 2025, which was mostly in line with market consensus. A major caveat to the headline print was the distortion of the underlying data due to tariff uncertainty. Net exports contributed -4.8% to GDP (likely from import front loading particularly in pharmaceuticals and computer parts), which is the largest-ever drag on growth from net exports.

We identified that a less distorted indicator of growth in the economy was domestic demand (consumer spending plus private fixed investment). Domestic demand added 2.5 percentage points to GDP growth, exactly in line with Q4 2024’s GDP. The print indicates continued steady growth in the U.S. economy, controlling for import distortions, though weaker growth data is likely on the horizon as the full effect of tariffs takes time to build.

The first 100 days of a president’s term first took on symbolic significance during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first term in office, when he promised major reforms amid the Great Depression. After he introduced many significant policies during that period, the “first 100 days” of a presidency became a common standard by which to measure future presidents in U.S. politics. This week marked 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term, which we analyze below.

Spotlight

President Trump has been historically busy during his first 100 days and has signed 142 executive orders, according to the Federal Register and American Presidency Project. Trump hit the ground running, signing 37 executive orders in his first week in office alone (not including other executive actions like memoranda and proclamations). He issued his 100th order in late March, surpassing Roosevelt’s record of 99 in 100 days. We examine the results across three areas below:

1. Tariffs. It wouldn’t be possible to discuss President Trump’s second term without mentioning tariffs. Our Chairman of Asset & Wealth Management Investment Strategy, Michael Cembalest, has been updating the most important chart of 2025 in his Trump Tracker and provides some color in his latest Eye on the Market: Dogespierre Has Left the Building.

There have been conflicting messages regarding bilateral negotiations between the U.S. and China, further tangling the complex geopolitical thread that has been spinning since April 2. Regardless, our estimates suggest that the current U.S. effective tariff rate is at the highest level since the 1930s.

Businesses face complex decisions as a result of tariffs across inventory and capital expansion projects, which affect economic growth. As for consumers, who are expecting 5% inflation over the next 12 months according to the latest University of Michigan survey, they essentially have two choices: spend now (to get ahead of increased prices) or save (and increase rainy day funds). Which option they choose remains to be seen, but we’ll be watching retail sales, credit card spending data and company commentary for signals of changing behaviors.

The tariff policy and trajectory have been rapidly evolving. Our base case assume deals with trading partners and substitution effects could result with effective tariff rate settling at 10%-20%. This would impact U.S. growth, leading to higher unemployment and inflation, but likely avoiding a recession. Market volatility would persist, affecting earnings, yet investors might benefit from structured notes offering defensive equity exposure and income.

2. U.S. market performance has lagged the rest of the world. 2025 started the year with Wall Street in consensus on U.S. exceptionalism. President Trump’s term was expected to usher in an era of deregulation, continued tax cuts and a release of animal spirits bolstering capital markets activity and performance. Consensus expectation haven’t materialized, and instead has flipped to except-U.S.-alism. Bloomberg’s latest survey showed a 40% median probability of a U.S. recession in the next 12 months according to forecasters.

We don’t buy into the view that investors should avoid U.S. assets. In our base case, we believe the U.S. will avoid a recession this year, and in that environment, U.S. equities can still outperform the rest of the world into year-end. However, the outperformance of ex-U.S. assets year-to-date is why we advocate for diversification in portfolios.

Diversification, by definition, means that you won’t have the highest return in a given year, but it creates a smoother ride for investor portfolios. Take, for example, an investor with 100% S&P 500 exposure versus a global 60/40 allocation since the start of 2023. That cherry-picks the starting point before two years of consecutive +20% returns for U.S. equities (which hasn’t happened since the late ‘90s). The returns for both sets of investors are attractive: the U.S.-only investor had a price return of 43% versus 30% for the global investor. The difference is the global investor achieved those gains at approximately 36% less volatility and a smoother investment experience. While the U.S. has outperformed the rest of the world by approximately 2x since 2010, every year an investor doesn’t diversify holdings, is a year actively taking the bet that the trend continues.

The kicker comes in the form of a historically ignored factor for U.S. investors: foreign exchange return. While we do not foresee the dollar losing its reserve currency status soon (nearly 90% of all forex trades involve the USD), capital will likely continue its shift at the margin out of dollars and into other global markets amid downside U.S. dollar risks. One straightforward approach to position for this potential scenario is to shift some of your investments into international markets that aren’t denominated in U.S. dollars, focusing on deep and liquid markets such as Europe and Japan. Using MSCI World as a benchmark, we believe about 30% of a diversified portfolio  should be in non-U.S., with two-thirds of that in Europe. This can help reduce currency risk and further diversify sources of return in portfolios. If you’re outside the United States, consider hedging strategies to shield your investments from dollar fluctuations.

3. The deficit: The Trump administration inherited a budget deficit of $1.8 trillion, equivalent to 6.4% of GDP, and aims to reduce it to 3%. The strategy includes generating revenue through tariffs, implementing spending cuts and promoting tax cuts and deregulation to boost GDP. 

Extending the tax cuts would likely be favorable for U.S. risk assets but come at the cost of adding trillions to the U.S. deficit.

There are essentially three ways to lower the deficit: raise revenues (taxes), lower spending (attempts by the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE]) haven’t yet shown the ability to lower expenses enough to make a significant difference in the deficit) or increase GDP. For now, it doesn’t seem like the deficit will be moving markedly lower and will remain a risk for investors. The Congressional Budget Office forecasts budget deficits to continue over their forecast horizon.

DISCLOSURES

The information presented is not intended to be making value judgments on the preferred outcome of any government decision or political election.

Investors should understand the potential tax liabilities surrounding a municipal bond purchase. Certain municipal bonds are federally taxed if the holder is subject to alternative minimum tax. Capital gains, if any, are federally taxable. The investor should note that the income from tax-free municipal bond funds may be subject to state and local taxation and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).

Holders of foreign securities can be subject to foreign exchange risk, exchange rate risk and currency risk, as exchange rates fluctuate between an investment’s foreign currency and the investment holder’s domestic currency. Conversely, it is possible to benefit from favorable foreign exchange fluctuations.

Index definitions:

The Solactive United States 2000 Index intends to track the performance of the largest 1001 to 3000 companies from the United States stock market. Constituents are selected based on company market capitalization and weighted by free float market capitalization.

The Russell 3000 Index is a capitalization-weighted stock market index that seeks to be a benchmark of the entire U.S. stock market. It measures the performance of the largest 3,000 U.S. companies representing approximately 96% of the investable U.S. equity market.

The S&P 500 Equal Weight Index is the equal-weight version of the widely-used S&P 500. The index includes the same constituents as the capitalization weighted S&P 500, but each company in the S&P 500 EWI is allocated a fixed weight of the index total at each quarterly rebalance.

The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a broad-based flagship benchmark that measures the investment grade, US dollar-denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market. The index includes Treasuries, government-related and corporate securities, MBS (agency fixed-rate pass-throughs), ABS and CMBS (agency and non-agency).

The Magnificent Seven stocks are a group of influential companies in the U.S. stock market: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Tesla.

The Magnificent 7 Index is an equal-dollar weighted equity benchmark consisting of a fixed basket of 7 widely-traded companies (Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Tesla) classified in the United States and representing the Communications, Consumer Discretionary and Technology sectors as defined by Bloomberg Industry Classification System (BICS).

The S&P Midcap 400 Index is a capitalization-weighted index which measures the performance of the mid-range sector of the U.S. stock market.

The S&P 500 index is widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities and serves as the foundation for a wide range of investment products. The index includes 500 leading companies and captures approximately 80% coverage of available market capitalization.

Bonds are subject to interest rate risk, credit, call, liquidity and default risk of the issuer. Bond prices generally fall when interest rates rise.

Standard and Poor’s 500 Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. The index was developed with a base level of 10 for the 1941–43 base period.

The Bloomberg Eco Surprise Index shows the degree to which economic analysts under- or over-estimate the trends in the business cycle. The surprise element is defined as the percentage difference between analyst forecasts and the published value of economic data releases.

The MSCI World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure global developed market equity performance.

The NASDAQ 100 Index is a basket of the 100 largest, most actively traded U.S companies listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The index includes companies from various industries except for the financial industry, like commercial and investment banks. These non-financial sectors include retail, biotechnology, industrial, technology, health care, and others.

The Russell 2000 Index measures small company stock market performance. The index does not include fees or expenses.

We believe the information contained in this material to be reliable but do not warrant its accuracy or completeness. Opinions, estimates, and investment strategies and views expressed in this document constitute our judgment based on current market conditions and are subject to change without notice.

The views, opinions, estimates and strategies expressed herein constitutes the author's judgment based on current market conditions and are subject to change without notice, and may differ from those expressed by other areas of J.P. Morgan. This information in no way constitutes J.P. Morgan Research and should not be treated as such. You should carefully consider your needs and objectives before making any decisions. For additional guidance on how this information should be applied to your situation, you should consult your advisor.

All companies referenced are shown for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended as a recommendation or endorsement by J.P. Morgan in this context.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., its affiliates, and employees do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. Information presented on these webpages is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for tax, legal and accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any financial transaction.

RISK CONSIDERATIONS

• Past performance is not indicative of future results. You may not invest directly in an index.
• The price of equity securities may rise or fall due to the changes in the broad market or changes in a company's financial condition, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Equity securities are subject to 'stock market risk' meaning that stock prices in general may decline over short or extended periods of time.
• Investing in fixed income products is subject to certain risks, including interest rate, credit, inflation, call, prepayment and reinvestment risk. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to substantial gain or loss.
• In general, the bond market is volatile and bond prices rise when interest rates fall and vice versa. Longer term securities are more prone to price fluctuation than shorter term securities. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to substantial gain or loss. Dependable income is subject to the credit risk of the issuer of the bond. If an issuer defaults no future income payments will be made.
• When investing in mutual funds or exchange-traded and index funds, please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses associated with the funds before investing. You may obtain a fund’s prospectus by contacting your investment professional. The prospectus contains information, which should be carefully read before investing.
• Investors should understand the potential tax liabilities surrounding a municipal bond purchase. Certain municipal bonds are federally taxed if the holder is subject to alternative minimum tax. Capital gains, if any, are federally taxable. The investor should note that the income from tax-free municipal bond funds may be subject to state and local taxation and the alternative minimum tax (amt).
• International investments may not be suitable for all investors. International investing involves a greater degree of risk and increased volatility. Changes in currency exchange rates and differences in accounting and taxation policies outside the u.s. can raise or lower returns. Some overseas markets may not be as politically and economically stable as the united states and other nations. Investments in international markets can be more volatile.
• Investments in emerging markets may not be suitable for all investors. Emerging markets involve a greater degree of risk and increased volatility. Changes in currency exchange rates and differences in accounting and taxation policies outside the u.s. can raise or lower returns. Some overseas markets may not be as politically and economically stable as the united states and other nations. Investments in emerging markets can be more volatile.
• Investments in commodities may have greater volatility than investments in traditional securities, particularly if the instruments involve leverage. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments. Use of leveraged commodity-linked derivatives creates an opportunity for increased return but, at the same time, creates the possibility for greater loss.
• Real estate investments trusts may be subject to a high degree of market risk because of concentration in a specific industry, sector or geographical sector. Real estate investments may be subject to risks including, but not limited to, declines in the value of real estate, risks related to general and economic conditions, changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trust and defaults by borrower.
• Investment in alternative investment strategies is speculative, often involves a greater degree of risk than traditional investments including limited liquidity and limited transparency, among other factors and should only be considered by sophisticated investors with the financial capability to accept the loss of all or part of the assets devoted to such strategies.
• Structured products involve derivatives and risks that may not be suitable for all investors. The most common risks include, but are not limited to, risk of adverse or unanticipated market developments, issuer credit quality risk, risk of lack of uniform standard pricing, risk of adverse events involving any underlying reference obligations, risk of high volatility, risk of illiquidity/little to no secondary market, and conflicts of interest. Before investing in a structured product, investors should review the accompanying offering document, prospectus or prospectus supplement to understand the actual terms and key risks associated with the each individual structured product. Any payments on a structured product are subject to the credit risk of the issuer and/or guarantor. Investors may lose their entire investment, i.e., incur an unlimited loss. The risks listed above are not complete. For a more comprehensive list of the risks involved with this particular product, please speak to your J.P. Morgan team.
• As a reminder, hedge funds (or funds of hedge funds) often engage in leveraging and other speculative investment practices that may increase the risk of investment loss. These investments can be highly illiquid, and are not required to provide periodic pricing or valuation information to investors, and may involve complex tax structures and delays in distributing important tax information. These investments are not subject to the same regulatory requirements as mutual funds; and often charge high fees. Further, any number of conflicts of interest may exist in the context of the management and/or operation of any such fund. For complete information, please refer to the applicable offering memorandum.
• For informational purposes only -- J.P. Morgan Securities LLC does not endorse, advise on, transmit, sell or transact in any type of virtual currency. Please note: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC does not intermediate, mine, transmit, custody, store, sell, exchange, control, administer, or issue any type of virtual currency, which includes any type of digital unit used as a medium of exchange or a form of digitally stored value.
• The prices and rates of return are indicative, as they may vary over time based on market conditions.
• Additional risk considerations exist for all strategies.
• The information provided herein is not intended as a recommendation of or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any investment product or service.
• Opinions expressed herein may differ from the opinions expressed by other areas of J.P. Morgan. This material should not be regarded as investment research or a J.P. Morgan investment research report.