Wall Street turns attention back to tariffs, AI risks after Powell offers few surprises

The Federal Reserve provided relief to markets on Wednesday as the central bank continued to project a path for two interest rate cuts in 2025. But the one-day stock rally didn't hold on Thursday and Friday, reflecting the feeling among many market strategists that the main issues plaguing the stock market over the past month have remained largely unchanged.

22V Research president Dennis Debusschere told Yahoo Finance that now that markets are through the Fed meeting, the focus will shift back to President Trump's tariffs and the possibility of reciprocal duties.

And figuring out how any of those policy plans could impact corporate profits this year is "absolutely what the market's been struggling with" amid the S&P 500's (^GSPC) recent 10% decline, per Debusschere. This struggle was front and center on Friday too, as both Nike (NKE) and FedEx (FDX) stocks dropped after the companies warned that looming economic headwinds such as tariffs could weigh on profits this year.

The market's tariff concerns have many layers. There's the question of which companies will be impacted by tariffs. There's the question of which companies could be impacted by counter-tariffs. And then there are further questions on how any potential price increases in some industries could also raise prices for other products. Broadly, there are fears that the answers to all of these questions could weigh on consumer spending and economic activity as a whole.

Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet

All of this has led to jerky market action as investors struggle to price in a moving target. As of now, the bulk of President Trump's tariff plans have been delayed until April 2. In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump described April 2 as "liberation day in America."

But exactly what will happen remains an open question for markets.

"Until we get to April 2, we're kind of sitting and waiting for some direction and for some clarity," Piper Sandler chief investment strategist Michael Kantrowitz told Yahoo Finance.

Kantrowitz argued that policy uncertainty was the leading factor in the recent market sell-off, as that unknown has now clouded the outlook for the Federal Reserve and potentially for corporate earnings. Typically, Kantrowitz said, markets would want more clarity on the initial catalyst that sparked the sell-off before moving higher.

"Usually, [when] the primary catalyst that stops becoming a problem, essentially, that allows the market to find its footing," Kantrowitz said.