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  • 🩸 Liberation Day, or Liquidation Day?

🩸 Liberation Day, or Liquidation Day?

+ Affirm Plans to Share All Buy Now, Pay Later Data with Experian

April 03, 2025

In partnership with

Good afternoon! Meta is now the UFC’s “official fan technology partner,” inking a multiyear deal that brings its full tech arsenal—AI, smart glasses, Threads, and more—closer to the cage. The move fits neatly with CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent pitch for more “masculine energy” in corporate culture, and his well-documented love of MMA.

But gets KO’d by the market
Unfortunately for Zuck, even the Octagon can’t block a market body blow. Meta shares slid nearly 9% amid a broader tech selloff, as tariff fears pummeled hardware producers and sent sentiment reeling. Adding irony to injury: Meta lists Zuckerberg’s passion for combat sports as a business risk in its annual report.

MARKETS

  • Wall Street got walloped Thursday after President Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement triggered fears of a global trade war and potential recession. The S&P 500 dropped 4.84%—its worst day since June 2020—wiping out over $2.7 trillion in market value and sending all major indexes into correction territory. The Nasdaq nosedived nearly 6%, while the Dow shed more than 1,600 points in a broad market rout.

  • Just when markets thought things couldn’t get worse, OPEC+ surprised traders by announcing a bigger-than-expected oil production hike. Eight members of the group plan to boost output by 411,000 barrels per day in May—nearly quadruple what analysts forecast.

STOCKS
Winners & Losers

What’s up 📈

  • Lamb Weston rose 10.01% after the frozen potato giant smashed earnings estimates, delivering $1.10 per share vs. the expected $0.86. ($LW)
    Molina Healthcare jumped 7.53% as investors rotated into defensive healthcare names amid tariff worries. ($MOH)
    SBA Communications climbed 5.26%, benefiting from investor interest in U.S.-based real estate holdings. ($SBAC)
    First Solar gained 4.94% with domestic manufacturers catching a bid as tariffs hit overseas goods. ($FSLR)
    Philip Morris International added 3.78% and reached an all-time high, as investors lit up on a rough day for broader markets. ($PM)

What’s down 📉

  • RH collapsed 40.09% after missing Q4 earnings and warning that the housing market is “the worst in 50 years.” ($RH)

  • Five Below plummeted 27.81% due to Trump’s new tariffs targeting low-cost imports, a big part of its supply chain. ($FIVE)

  • Wayfair tumbled 25.59% as the company faces heavy exposure to Southeast Asian nations now subject to higher tariffs. ($W)

  • Nike dropped 14.39% after Trump hit Vietnam and China with steep tariffs; the company produces ~50% of its footwear in those countries. ($NKE)
    Deckers Outdoor fell 14.49% due to its extensive supply chain exposure to Vietnam and China, which now face tariffs of 46% and 54%. ($DECK)

  • Crocs sank 13.96% as tariff pressure hammered the footwear sector. ($CROX)
    Banks took a hit: Bank of America sank 11.06% as bank earnings outlooks were slashed by JP Morgan ($BAC) . Goldman Sachs slid 9.21% on recession fears tied to new tariffs ($GS). Citigroup lost 12.14%, leading a broader bank stock rout as traders priced in economic fallout from protectionist policies. ($C)

  • Amazon and Apple each fell more than 9% amid concerns about rising costs and supply chain disruptions. ($AMZN, $AAPL)

  • Advanced Micro Devices dropped 8.90% despite being exempt from tariffs, caught in a sector-wide tech selloff. ($AMD)

  • Nvidia fell 7.80% as semiconductor stocks got hit across the board. ($NVDA)

STOCKS
Liberation Day liberated $3 trillion in market value

Wall Street didn’t feel very free on Thursday.

President Trump’s “Liberation Day” turned into devastation for markets. Stocks were rocked Thursday after Trump formally imposed sweeping new tariffs on every U.S. trading partner. The S&P 500 dropped 4.8%, the Nasdaq 100 slid 5.4%, and the Russell 2000 tumbled 6.6%—marking the worst single-day performance since 2020 and shaving off roughly $3.1 trillion in market value. That’s not freedom—that’s freefall.

Apple burned, Nike swooned, and everyone else followed

Apple dropped 9.3%, its worst day since the pandemic panic in 2020, as tariffs sent its Southeast Asia-based supply chain costs soaring. Nike—heavily reliant on Vietnam—cratered 14.5%. Retailers like Target (-10.86%), Dollar Tree (-13.34%), and Best Buy (-17.84%) followed suit.

Tech didn’t fare better: Microsoft slipped 2.4%, while Meta and Amazon both lost nearly 9%. Meanwhile, defensive sectors like consumer staples, healthcare, and utilities outperformed, with names like Coca-Cola and Philip Morris actually gaining as investors fled to safety.

Markets in meltdown mode

Trump’s plan includes a blanket 10% tariff on all imports starting April 5, with much steeper levies for key trade deficit offenders—China (54%), Japan (24%), EU (20%), and more. That sparked fears of a full-on trade war and potential recession, sending the Cboe Volatility Index soaring above 30. Even international allies like Canada and France signaled retaliation, while Stellantis announced layoffs and Ford hinted at price cuts to stay competitive.

Not just stocks—everything moved

Oil sank more than 6%, the dollar fell to its lowest point since October, and gold—after hitting record highs—saw a selloff. Treasurys, meanwhile, saw heavy buying as investors fled to safety. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that tariffs this extreme may be more posturing than policy. But with Trump saying they’ll stay in place until he’s satisfied with trade balances, markets aren’t holding their breath.

Now all eyes turn to Friday’s jobs report. If employment looks shaky too, buckle up—this week’s market dip could be just the beginning.

NEWS
Market Movements

Could RYSE be the next Ring?

Venture capitalists know how difficult it is to spot early investment opportunities – just ask the Sharks from Shark Tank. They passed on Ring at just $700,000, only to watch it sell to Amazon for $1.2B – a 1700x return missed.

Now, there’s a new smart home start-up following the same blueprint: meet RYSE.

The founder pitched on Canada’s Shark Tank, secured two offers, and now their patented smart shades are sold in 127 Best Buy stores, Amazon and Walmart – with Home Depot launching in 2025.

Ring used retail expansion to dominate smart security. RYSE is using the same playbook to disrupt the smart shade market inside the 158B smart home industry.

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Email may contain forward-looking statements. See US Offering for details. Informational purposes only.

FINTECH
Affirm Plans to Share All Buy Now, Pay Later Data with Experian

Affirm, one of the largest buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers, is now reporting all of its loans—including those short-term, interest-free “pay-in-four” options—to credit bureau Experian.

No More Stealth Debt

Until now, these loans were basically stealth debt: billions in borrowing that didn’t show up on credit reports. That ends now. Starting April 1, every new Affirm loan—on-time, late, big or small—will show up on your Experian file. And while this info won’t immediately impact your credit score (since traditional scoring models don’t account for BNPL yet), Experian says that could change soon.

Why It Matters: This shift closes a huge blind spot. BNPL exploded during the pandemic, with over 277 million loans in 2022 alone, many of them invisible to lenders. That meant someone could take out a $20K auto loan with three active BNPL loans quietly riding shotgun. With this move, Affirm and Experian are calling shotgun instead.

The potential impact? On-time payments could help build credit for newcomers. But racking up too many loans—or missing payments—could set off alarm bells for future lenders, even if your score doesn't budge right away. Bottom line: BNPL just grew up. So treat it more like a credit card… and less like a “meh, I’ll deal with it later” tab at checkout.

Calendar
On The Horizon

Tomorrow

The final stretch of the week brings the main event: the monthly US jobs report. It’s always a headline grabber, but this one carries extra weight—it’s the first major readout since the DOGE spending cuts took effect, and comes as the economy tiptoes around a full-blown tariff storm.

With uncertainty swirling and trade tensions rattling confidence, economists expect a hiring cooldown across key sectors. But the real question is whether layoffs are starting to pick up pace, hinting that businesses aren’t just pausing—they’re bracing.

NEWS
The Daily Rundown

RESOURCES
The Federal Reserve Resource

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