What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares - WSJ What’s News

Summary4 min read

WSJ What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
Release Date: March 15, 2025
Host: Francesca Fontana, The Wall Street Journal

Introduction: A Tumultuous Week in the Markets

In the March 15th episode of WSJ What’s News in Markets, host Francesca Fontana delves into a week marked by heightened recession fears, escalating trade tensions, and significant stock market fluctuations. The episode provides a comprehensive overview of the major factors influencing market movements, highlighting key sectors and notable corporate performances.

Recession Fears and Consumer Sentiment

Slowing Household Spending: The episode opens with a discussion on the pervasive fear of an impending recession, which cast a shadow over many companies' earnings reports. A prime example highlighted was Kohl's, which expressed concerns about diminishing household spending. This caution led to a dramatic 24% drop in Kohl's stock on Tuesday, underscoring investor anxiety about consumer behavior.

Decline in Consumer Confidence: Francesca cites the latest data from the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment, noting, “the Index fell to its lowest level since November 2022” (04:15). This decline signals waning consumer confidence, a critical indicator that can influence market trends and economic forecasts.

Trade War Escalations: Focus on Alcohol

Initial Tariff Impositions: The trade war narrative gains momentum as Francesca reviews President Trump's February announcement of a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports effective March 12th. This move was met with swift retaliation from the European Union.

EU's Retaliatory Measures: On Wednesday, the EU imposed a 50% tariff on American whiskey, motorcycles, and motorboats starting April 1st. Francesca emphasizes, “we're going to focus on the whiskey” (02:40), highlighting the significant impact on U.S. distilleries like Brown Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel's.

Trump's Escalation to 200% Tariffs: The trade tensions intensified on Thursday when Trump threatened to impose a staggering 200% tariff on all alcohol imports from the EU. This escalation led to a sell-off among European alcoholic beverage manufacturers and further strained U.S.-EU trade relations.

Impact on Brown Forman: Brown Forman bore the brunt of these developments, with its stock falling 5.1% on Wednesday and declining a total of 5.8% for the week. Francesca notes, “the tariff threat was a blow to Brown Forman stock this week” (03:20), illustrating the tangible effects of trade policies on specific industries.

Tesla’s Volatile Performance and Trump's Unlikely Support

Stock Decline Amid Concerns: Tesla, under CEO Elon Musk, experienced significant stock volatility. On Monday, Tesla shares plummeted by 15%, marking their worst trading day since 2020 and bringing year-to-date losses to 45%. Francesca remarks, “shares lost 15%, its worst trading day since 2020” (01:10), highlighting investor unease over sales data and Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration.

Trump’s Unexpected Endorsement: In an unexpected twist, President Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Tuesday morning to announce his intention to purchase a new Tesla vehicle “as a show of confidence and support for Musk” (02:05). This surprising endorsement came despite Trump's previous stance against electric vehicles and his administration’s actions to curb EV infrastructure.

White House Appearance and Stock Rebound: Later that day, Trump joined Elon Musk outside the White House alongside several Tesla models, providing a notable photo opportunity. This public support contributed to a 4% rebound in Tesla shares on Tuesday. However, despite this temporary uplift, Tesla concluded the week with a nearly 5% loss, marking the eighth consecutive week of declines.

US Airlines: Mixed Performances Amid Lowered Guidance

Guidance Reductions: The airline industry faced challenges as major carriers like Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and JetBlue lowered their earnings guidance early in the week. Francesca states, “Delta shares fell more than 7% on Tuesday, while American shares lost more than 8%” (04:50), reflecting investor concerns over the sector’s outlook.

JetBlue and Southwest: Diverging Fortunes: While JetBlue initially saw a gain of 4.2%, despite warning of first-quarter weakness, the stock ultimately ended the week with an 8% loss. In contrast, Southwest Airlines implemented strategic moves to boost revenue, including introducing charges for checked bags. This proactive approach paid off, with Southwest shares rising approximately 8% on Tuesday and ending the week with a 9% gain.

Market Summary: Major Indexes in Decline

The broader market performance reflected the week's unsettling themes. Francesca summarizes, “the S&P 500 entered correction territory, falling more than 10% from its recent high on February 19th” (03:00). All three major indexes experienced weekly declines: the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by about 3%, while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each fell more than 2%.

Conclusion and Further Insights

Francesca Fontana wraps up the episode by directing listeners to her column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section for more detailed analyses of stock movements and underlying news. Produced by Zoe Culkin and Anthony Banci, with supervising producer Michael Kosmides, this episode encapsulates a week of significant market shifts driven by economic fears and geopolitical tensions.

For more in-depth coverage and ongoing market analysis, tune into the What’s News in Markets segment or visit the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section.

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Transcript3 lines

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Wallstreet hey listeners, it's Saturday, March 15th. I'm Francesca Fontana for the Wall Street Journal and this is what's news in markets. Our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. Welcome back everybody. Hope you made it through this week in markets in one piece. What was it? In a word, a doozy. Well, maybe that's two words. What was the week about? In a few words, recession fears and trade Recession fears were in the foreground for company's earnings reports. For instance, Kohl's joined the growing chorus of retailers warning of slowing household spending this year and the stock on Tuesday plummeted 24%. Plus on Friday we saw that the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to its lowest level since November 2022. So not great and we'll get into the trade war stuff in a bit. But minor spoiler alert. It was Thursday, the day the European Union got more tariff threats from Trump, that the S&P 500 close correction territory. In other words, it fell more than 10% from its recent high on February 19th. All in all, the three major indexes posted weekly declines with the Dow dropping about 3% and the S and P and the Nasdaq each falling more than 2%. First up, Tesla, Elon Musk's EV maker, which got some relief from its latest route thanks to a shout out from previous EV haters. President Trump in case you missed it, disappointing sales data and concerns over Musk's role in the Trump administration have been weighing on the stock and on Monday, shares lost 15%, its worst trading day since 2020, taking its year to date losses to 45%. Then in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Trump posted on his Truth social platform that he was going to buy a brand new Tesla quote as a show of confidence and support for Musk. Like I said, Trump has been pretty anti electric car. He campaigned extensively against Joe Biden's EV mandates for one, and his administration back in February halted federal funding for new charging stations but you know, you'd never know it. At least not by the looks of the photo op Trump held later that day. On Tuesday, he joined Elon outside the White House alongside several Tesla models. The shoutout did give the stock a rebound, with shares rising almost 4% on Tuesday. But on a weekly basis, Tesla posted a loss for the eighth week in a row. This time a loss of nearly 5%. Alright, like I promised, it is time for another trade war. Play by play. I know last week was pretty nuts. You can be the judge of how this week stacks up in comparison. Spoiler alert. It's not the global auto industry caught in the crossfire. No, this time it is alcohol. You might recall that Trump announced back in February that on March 12 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum would go into effect. And that they did on Wednesday. So on Wednesday, the European Union announced retaliatory tariffs against the US really hitting them where it hurts. 50% starting April 1 on imports of American whiskey, motorcycles and motorboats. We're going to focus on the whiskey. Then Thursday, Trump escalates, threatening to impose 200% tariffs on all alcohol imports from the bloc, prompting a sell off among European drink makers. Beer, wine, champagne, liquor, you name it. Now this EU levy on American whiskey, that'd be a blow to Jack Daniel's maker Brown Forman and other US Distillers, which are already contending with a drop in demand as American drinkers cut back on, well, drinking. And the tariff threat was a blow to Brown Forman stock this week. ITS shares fell 5.1% on Wednesday, and on a weekly basis the stock was down 5.8%. Last but not least, US airlines lost some air on Tuesday, but some carriers managed to buck the trend. Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and JetBlue lowered guidance early in the week and we saw Delta shares fall more than 7% on Tuesday, while American shares lost more than 8. But JetBlue gained 4.2% for one, its outlook cut was smaller than the others and it already warned of first quarter weakness back in January. Meanwhile, Southwest unveiled a range of moves to lift revenue, including the seismic shift of charging for checked bags, and its shares on Tuesday jumped about 8%. So JetBlue, Southwest, how'd the stocks fare the rest of the week? Well, JetBlue ended with a loss of more than 8%, while Southwest posted a weekly gain of more than 9%. And now you know what's news in markets this week. You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in the score. My column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section. Today's show was produced by Zoe Culkin and Anthony Banci, with supervising producer Michael Kosmides. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you next Saturday.
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