It was a wild first half of 2025 that suffered turbulent swings in the global markets driven by President Donald Trump’s multifront trade war as reported by CNBC. In March, the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw the worst single-day drops in recent history. The following month, the three indexes whipsawed on the news that the Federal Reserve was prepared to keep financial markets functioning while Trump softened on his tariffs. Here’s a look at how stocks work and what drives them. (enlarge)
Sources: Market Beat; Yahoo Finance; CNBC