Would ya look at that, the Dow just got taken behind the woodshed today, dropping 748 points for its worst day of 2025 so far. That’s over 1,200 points lost in just two days, and suddenly investor portfolios everywhere look like a crime scene. 

(Source: Giphy) 

In short, the Friday Freak Show started with the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, which cratered 10% in January, thanks to consumers realizing that inflation isn’t dead—it’s just been taking a nap. The five-year inflation outlook hit 3.5%, the highest since 1995, which is great news if you were hoping for another Fed-induced market meltdown. Meanwhile, existing home sales tanked, dropping to their levels in months (practically explaining my homebuilder's pissed-off mood when I called him today LOL). 

Because of this, Wall Street practically panic-sold everything tech-related and ran for the safety of toothpaste, frozen pizzas, and whatever’s left of Kraft Heinz. Nvidia, Palantir, and every other meme-stock-turned-blue-chip got dumped (-4.08% and -4.59%), while Conagra, Campbell’s, and Mondelez ripped +3.82%, +3.18%, +4.02% as investors realized people will still buy Oreos and canned soup even if the economy goes to hell.

(Source: Giphy) 

Adding insult to injury, Steve Cohen, the billionaire insider trading hedge fund legend, basically told everyone at a conference that “Yeah, the best gains are probably behind us.” My translation to this? Start hedging or get bent. Cohen’s reasoning is that Trump’s tariff proposals and cost-cutting measures are dragging the economy into a ditch, and investors are finally waking up to the fact that the easy money era is over (his words, not mine). 

What's more is that Walmart didn’t help matters either, dropping -2.50% for a second straight day after issuing a weaker-than-expected forecast. This sent consumer discretionary stocks into their worst weekly performance in over a year, because if Walmart is struggling, well then we’re all broke as a joke (especially considering six-figure income households are making up north of 75% of Walmarts market share). 

(Source: Giphy) 

On the other hand, if you’re feeling nostalgic for 2008, bond yields plunged as investors flooded into Treasuries, meaning the market is doing that thing where it screams in terror and hides in the corner. The S&P 500 dropped 1.7%, the Nasdaq got wrecked with a 2% loss, and the only people having a good time are the ones playing it extremely safe while hoarding Procter & Gamble stock.

So yeah, fun times this Friday. But if the last two days of market carnage have taught us anything, it’s that sentiment can flip on a dime, and right now, the market is spooked. However, the rotation into defensive stocks—consumer staples, utilities, healthcare—tells you everything you need to know. Big money is playing defense, which means if you’re still piling into high-growth tech plays without a hedge, you might want to check yourself or risk getting slapped with “emotional damage”. Meaning, place your bets accordingly, friends! Until next time… 

If you read all of this, congrats for having a 10 second attention span (better than me). As always, here’s our heatmap for today.

Stocks.News holds positions in Proctor and Gamble as mentioned in the article.