How stocks, bonds and other markets have fared so in 2025

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NEW YORK (AP) — Global financial markets have been turned upside down this year by President Donald Trump’s burgeoning trade war. Markets are not in full panic, but the double-digit declines in major U.S. stock indexes are testing nerves.

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U.S. markets had been on a two-year tear coming into 2025, though many believed that stock prices had become overinflated. Trump’s trade war pushed that sentiment into hyperdrive. The S&P 500 has tumbled 13%, and U.S. markets are being outpaced in Europe, Asia, and just about everywhere else.

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Trading in traditional “safe havens” like U.S. Treasuries and the dollar has become erratic and unpredictable. On Monday, the dollar struck a three-year low and U.S. Treasury yields have been soaring. Typically, yields would fall as investors seek a safe place to park their money. U.S. Treasuries no longer appear to provide the shelter they once did.

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Only gold, a commodity traded internationally, has maintained its reputation as a safe zone. The price of gold is hitting one record high after another.

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Here’s a roundup of what is happening in various segments of the financial market:

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Stocks

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U.S. stocks have been losing ground in a sharp reversal after two years of stellar gains.

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The S&P 500 index, which is considered a benchmark for the broader market’s health, is down more than 13% in 2025. It gained more than 20% in both 2023 and 2024.

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The benchmark index is already in “correction,” having fallen more than 10% from the record it set in February. There have been only five weeks in which it’s ended in positive territory this year and with Monday’s decline it’s moving closer to bear market territory, or a 20% drop from recent highs.

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It’s worse on the growth-focused Nasdaq composite, which has plunged 19%.

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Overseas markets have largely performed much better than their U.S. counterparts.

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Bonds

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Treasurys, typically considered a less risky area of the market, have been volatile throughout the year.

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The 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates and other loans, was as high as 4.80% in January but then fell until Trump announced the broad details of his tariff policy in early April. Yields then began to spike this month. The recent jump in bond yields, which happens when bond prices fall, reflects rising anxiety about inflation and a potential recession.

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Treasury bonds are essentially IOUs from the U.S. government and they’re how Washington pays its bills. Bond prices typically move in the opposite direction of stock prices, but prices for both have fallen in tandem. That raises more significant concerns, namely a loss of faith in the U.S. as a safe place to invest.

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Gold

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In all of the economic uncertainty, gold is soaring _ setting record after record in 2025.

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New York spot gold hit another all-time high Thursday, closing at about $3,343 per Troy ounce — the standard for measuring precious metals — per FactSet. The price is up nearly 27% this year.