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S&P 500 ETF drops 2% on tariff and tech-induced tumult

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are on pace for their fifth weekly decline in six weeks.

3/28/25 1:09PM

It’s a Wall Street washout.

The SPDR S&P 500 Trust, one of the most widely traded exchange-traded funds that tracks the S&P 500, fell about 2% on Friday. Consumer discretionary, communication services, and tech — the sectors home to the so-called Magnificent 7 — are the worst-performing S&P 500 sector ETFs on the day. All members of the cohort aside from Nvidia are trailing the benchmark US stock index on Friday, with Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Tesla, and Amazon all down more than 3%.

Market jitters are being accentuated by a string of lousy economic data, with the University of Michigan’s final March consumer sentiment report showing long-term inflation expectations at their highest since 1993. Adding fuel to the fire, the core PCE price index came in hotter than expected, rising 2.8% year over year in February and 0.4% for the month.

The market’s angst also comes as the White House rolls out a wave of new tariffs, and markets are finally waking up to this new reality. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are on pace for their fifth weekly decline in six weeks. Meanwhile, across the NYSE, just 14% of trading volume was to the upside — the lowest level this year.

$8.5T

Matt Phillips2h

Analysts at consulting firm Pantheon Macroeconomics estimate that the stock market’s enthusiasm for all things AI has added some $8.5 trillion to aggregate US household wealth since late 2022. They wrote:

“The S&P 500 returned about 70% between the start of ChatGPT mania around the end of 2022 to the end of Q2 2025, with roughly half of those returns generated by the ‘magnificent seven’ tech stocks, a very rough proxy for the stock market boost from AI euphoria.

We estimate that translates into a lift to household wealth held in stocks of about $8.5T.”

As my colleague Luke Kawa recently wrote, stock market wealth seems to be underpinning US consumer spending, especially among the richest Americans. Some of that spending may retrench if AI is indeed a bubble — as some have recently mooted — and eventually pops.

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The S&P 500 ETF wars are over — VOO has won out over SPY

After more than three decades at the top, SPY has lost its crown in the S&P 500 Index wars. Now, VOO’s closest challenger is IVV.

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Serve Robotics spikes after announcing multiyear partnership with DoorDash for deliveries

Serve Robotics is spiking in early trading after the maker of sidewalk delivery robots and DoorDash announced a “multi-year strategic partnership to roll out autonomous robot vehicles across the US,” starting with Los Angeles.

Serve already does restaurant deliveries in Los Angeles (as well as Miami, Dallas, Chicago, and Atlanta) thanks to its partnership with Uber Eats.

DoorDash, for its part, already utilizes Coco Robotics to deliver food in Los Angeles and Chicago. Last week, it debuted its own delivery robot called “Dot,” which can operate on roads and sidewalks and is designed for suburban environments, per the company. Dot will initially be trialed in Tempe and Mesa, Arizona.

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Novo Nordisk to acquire liver disease drugmaker Akero Therapeutics for up to $5.2 billion

Novo Nordisk announced Thursdsay that it intends to acquire Akero Therapeutics for up to $5.2 billion.

Novo said it would pay $54 per share for Akero, a 15% premium to its $46.49 closing price in Wednesday, for a total of $4.7 billion.

Akero’s efruxifermin (EFX) treats a liver disease known as MASH, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. The company is currently conducting late-stage trials of the drug. Shareholders will receive another $500 million if US regulators approve EFX to treat compensated cirrhosis brought about by MASH.

Akero rose about 18% in premarket trading.

Roche announced in September that it would buy another MASH drugmaker, 89bio, for $2.4 billion. GSK in July completed a $1.2 billion deal to license Boston Pharmaceuticals’ MASH drug.

Novo, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, has been struggling to spark sales growth amid increased competition from other weight-loss drugs and copycat versions of its drugs. The Danish drugmaker, which is down more than 30% for the year, slipped about 1% in premarket trading.

S&P 500 ETF drops 2% on tariff and tech-induced tumult

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Serve Robotics spikes after announcing multiyear partnership with DoorDash for deliveries

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