{"id":21193,"date":"2025-04-24T07:26:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T07:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/?p=21193"},"modified":"2025-04-24T07:26:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T07:26:19","slug":"nasdaq-pulls-back-as-trade-hopes-fade-and-fed-signals-stay-unclear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/analysis\/nasdaq-pulls-back-as-trade-hopes-fade-and-fed-signals-stay-unclear\/","title":{"rendered":"NASDAQ Pulls Back as Trade Hopes Fade and Fed Signals Stay Unclear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"559\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/03\/image_fx-2025-04-24T152247.288-1024x559.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21196\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Highlights:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>NASDAQ 100 dropped to <strong>18,644.15<\/strong>, retreating from an intraday peak of <strong>19,056.65<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>U.S. futures weakened as <strong>tariff rollback hopes lost steam<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trump reversed criticism of Fed Chair Powell, but <strong>left rate outlook murky<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fed\u2019s Beth Hammack said uncertainty supports a <strong>go-slow approach<\/strong> to policy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The NASDAQ 100 lost ground on Thursday, closing at <strong>18,644.15<\/strong> following a sharp reversal from the 19,050 zone. A flurry of <strong>confusing policy signals<\/strong> out of Washington left traders reeling, with no clear direction for tech stocks or the broader equity space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Markets initially rallied on hopes that President Trump would soften his stance on China tariffs. But that optimism faded fast when he backtracked, reaffirming trade pressure and reigniting fears of prolonged economic tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reversal unsettled investors, especially as it came on the heels of Trump\u2019s now-retracted criticism of <strong>Fed Chair Jerome Powell<\/strong>. While his softened tone brought momentary relief to bond markets, the <strong>lack of clarity on interest rate policy<\/strong> continued to weigh on risk sentiment\u2014particularly in rate-sensitive tech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Dow, S&amp;P 500, Nasdaq futures trade flat as Wall Street pins hopes on trade deals <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lWbdQd0eU8\">https:\/\/t.co\/lWbdQd0eU8<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/YahooFinance\/status\/1915210887218016342?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 24, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udf10 <strong>Macro Snapshot: Sentiment Remains Fragile<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Investor nerves remain on edge, as the <strong>U.S.\u2013China trade narrative continues to swing wildly<\/strong>. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified there are no immediate plans to remove tariffs, dispelling earlier assumptions of a potential truce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the monetary side, longer-term U.S. Treasury yields dipped slightly, with the 10-year yield settling at <strong>4.3578%<\/strong>, reflecting modest optimism that inflation remains under control. But <strong>Fed Governor Beth Hammack\u2019s comments<\/strong> reinforced the need for caution:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith the outlook still uncertain, a slower policy path remains appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">\ud83d\udcc9 <strong>Technical Outlook: Bullish Momentum Stalls<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>NASDAQ 100 surged to 19,056.65<\/strong> earlier in the session, extending a sharp rebound from the previous day\u2019s low of <strong>17,940.85<\/strong>. Initially, the technical picture was bullish\u2014short-term moving averages (5, 10, 30) showed strong upward alignment, while the <strong>MACD signalled a bullish crossover<\/strong> with positive momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\uddbc\ufe0f <em>Chart: NASDAQ pauses below 19,000 as bullish steam fades \u2013 via VT Markets app<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the rally hit resistance near 19,000. The index then retraced sharply, falling below the 30-period moving average and settling around <strong>18,644<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MACD momentum has since flattened, and the histogram is hovering near the zero line\u2014suggesting a loss of conviction. For now, the price is caught in a <strong>sideways range<\/strong> between 18,600 and 18,800.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A break below 18,600 could test support at <strong>18,500<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A recovery above 18,800 may trigger another push towards <strong>19,000<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Until then, the index appears to be <strong>consolidating rather than trending<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/03\/image-29-1024x441.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21194\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Picture: NASDAQ bulls lose steam near 19000 as consolidation kicks in, as seen on the <\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/vtmarketsapp.onelink.me\/CD7D\/240525WA\">VT Markets app<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udd2e <strong>Outlook: Market Direction Hinges on Clarity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Markets are caught in a holding pattern. <strong>Mixed political messaging<\/strong> and a lack of clear guidance from the Federal Reserve have injected short-term volatility, particularly into tech-heavy sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With no major breakthroughs on trade and policy narratives shifting daily, traders remain cautious. Until there\u2019s more certainty around the Fed\u2019s rate path and trade relations with China, the NASDAQ may stay trapped in <strong>choppy, range-bound conditions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u26a1 Trade NASDAQ 100 with VT Markets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Catch every move in tech with the tools you need to trade smarter. Whether markets rally or retreat, VT Markets gives you an edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2705 Real-time tech index updates<br>\u2705 Low-latency execution<br>\u2705 Integrated technical analysis tools<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Open your <a href=\"https:\/\/latam.vtmarkets.com\/en\/trade-now\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"VT Markets Latam Account\">VT Markets account<\/a> today and trade the NASDAQ with precision.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NASDAQ eased from recent highs as trader confidence was shaken by mixed signals from the Trump administration on tariffs and Fed leadership. &#8211; vtmarkets.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-21193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","tag-indices"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-latam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}