S&P 500 Recovers to $659 After 8.3% March Drawdown; META and TSLA Still Down 12%+
The S&P 500 (SPY) has recovered from a $629 low back to $659 after a sharp mid-March selloff. Meta and Tesla remain the hardest hit among mega-caps, down 12-20% from their March highs.
The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) closed at $658.93 on April 6, recovering nearly all of its March losses after touching $629.28 on March 30 -- an 8.3% drawdown from its early-March level of $686.
March-to-Date Performance (Major Indices)
| Index | March 3 | April 6 | Change | March Low | Max Drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPY (S&P 500) | $686.60 | $658.93 | -4.0% | $629.28 | -8.3% |
| QQQ (Nasdaq 100) | $607.99 | $588.50 | -3.2% | $555.60 | -8.6% |
Mega-Cap Stocks
| Stock | April 6 | MTD Change | March Low | Max Drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVDA | $177.64 | -2.7% | $164.27 | -10.0% |
| MSFT | $372.88 | -6.4% | $356.28 | -10.6% |
| GOOGL | $299.99 | -2.1% | $272.11 | -11.2% |
| AMZN | $212.79 | +2.3% | $199.14 | -4.4% |
| META | $573.02 | -12.3% | $520.26 |
The Selloff and Recovery
The correction was compressed into a single week: SPY fell from $655 on March 23 to $632 on March 30 -- a 3.5% drop in five trading days. The snap recovery was equally sharp, with SPY gaining 4.3% in the first four trading days of April.
The selling was broadest in growth and momentum names. Meta Platforms (META) experienced the deepest drawdown among mega-caps at -20.4%, while Amazon (AMZN) proved most resilient, losing only 4.4% peak-to-trough and finishing the period up 2.3%.
What the Data Shows
The V-shaped recovery pattern -- steep selloff followed by rapid bounce -- is consistent with a positioning-driven correction rather than a fundamental deterioration. The breadth of the recovery (all major indices and most mega-caps participating) supports this reading.
The notable outliers are META (-12.3%) and TSLA (-12.5%), both of which have not participated in the April recovery. This divergence suggests company-specific factors beyond the broader market correction.
Source: Market data via Alpaca Markets API.