Market soared—but these stocks crashed: Why Tonix, Dai-ichi Life, and Atour sank on April 9

The US stock market experienced a stunning rebound on April 9, 2025, driven by a temporary suspension of tariffs that halted a multi-day selloff and injected renewed optimism into global markets. While major indices surged—marking one of the most dramatic one-day rallies in history—not every stock joined the recovery. Some companies posted sharp losses, defying broader investor sentiment. Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp., Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Atour Lifestyle Holdings, and Eisai Co., Ltd. were among the top laggards, weighed down by sector-specific risks, macroeconomic pressures, and long-standing structural challenges that cast a shadow even on a bullish trading session.

Why did Tonix Pharmaceuticals drop sharply despite a strong biotech rebound?

Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. closed the day down 9.64% at $17.91, becoming the worst-performing actively traded US stock on April 9. The company’s continued struggles stem from deep-seated concerns about its development pipeline, funding sustainability, and broader investor fatigue around small-cap biotech names. While many large-cap pharmaceutical and biotech stocks benefited from safe-haven buying and renewed interest in healthcare amid global trade volatility, Tonix lagged behind due to a lack of near-term catalysts.

Tonix, a clinical-stage biopharma firm, focuses on central nervous system disorders and rare disease treatments. Its portfolio includes experimental therapies for fibromyalgia, PTSD, and long COVID, but none have yet received regulatory approval. This development-stage status, paired with a dwindling cash runway and volatile trading history, has prompted institutional investors to reassess their exposure.

Over the past year, the biotech sector has faced heightened scrutiny from regulators over drug pricing, tighter restrictions on fast-tracked approvals, and increasingly cautious attitudes from venture capital and institutional funds. These factors disproportionately affect firms like Tonix that rely heavily on fundraising and trial milestones to drive valuation. Despite operating in a high-need therapeutic space, Tonix has struggled to convert pipeline news into investor confidence—reflected in its nearly 97% year-to-date loss even before Wednesday’s decline.

What triggered Dai-ichi Life Holdings’ sharp drop amid global insurance sector pressure?

Japanese insurer Dai-ichi Life Holdings saw its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) fall 7.20% to $11.60. The company’s losses highlight the challenges faced by global insurers navigating turbulent financial markets and unpredictable monetary policy conditions.

Dai-ichi Life, one of Japan’s largest life insurers, operates in a low-interest-rate environment domestically and invests heavily in foreign securities to enhance yield. However, the sharp appreciation of the US dollar and renewed volatility in global bond markets have created significant headwinds. As the Federal Reserve and other major central banks maintain mixed messaging on interest rate trajectories, the returns on fixed-income portfolios held by insurers have become increasingly difficult to forecast.

Additionally, the Bank of Japan’s policy normalization process has introduced new uncertainty for firms like Dai-ichi Life. After decades of ultra-accommodative policy, even marginal tightening can erode margins built on predictable yield differentials. The risk of unhedged foreign exchange exposure—particularly with the yen weakening sharply against the dollar—has only added to the market’s wariness.

Global insurers are also under pressure from long-term demographic shifts. In Japan, a rapidly aging population coupled with subdued population growth has tightened domestic market opportunities, pushing insurers to expand internationally and take on new market risk. On a day when equity markets broadly soared, investors’ decision to pull back from Dai-ichi Life illustrates a clear divergence in how policy-sensitive sectors are being assessed in this phase of the economic cycle.

How did Atour Lifestyle Holdings underperform despite strong consumer sentiment?

Atour Lifestyle Holdings Limited, a hospitality and lifestyle brand headquartered in Shanghai, lost 4.25% to close at $23.00. This decline came despite a broader consumer discretionary sector rally, underlining investor sensitivity toward China-related risk and geopolitical trade friction.

Atour operates a chain of mid-to-upscale hotels and lifestyle products targeting China’s growing domestic travel market. While the company has shown strong revenue growth in recent quarters and benefited from a domestic tourism revival post-pandemic, its US listing and China exposure have made it a frequent casualty of risk-off sentiment among global investors.

China’s economic rebound has been uneven, with persistent concerns about real estate debt, youth unemployment, and regulatory unpredictability in sectors such as tech, education, and consumer services. The Biden administration’s and now the Trump administration’s hawkish tone on China trade policy has only added to the uncertainty, particularly for ADRs of Chinese companies.

Atour, which had previously positioned itself as a “premium urban lifestyle” brand with significant growth potential, is now caught in a broader reevaluation of China ADRs. Despite operational performance that remains strong, the company’s share price remains vulnerable to geopolitical narratives and fund flow volatility from institutional investors reassessing emerging market exposure.

What factors contributed to Eisai’s underperformance in a rising market?

Eisai Co., Ltd., the Japanese pharmaceutical firm known for its Alzheimer’s treatment portfolio, dropped 4.14% to $6.02. The company’s stock has suffered from disappointing commercial performance of its lead Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, co-developed with Biogen. While the drug gained regulatory approval in the US and Japan in 2023, uptake has been slower than projected, constrained by high treatment costs, specialist availability, and insurer hesitancy over coverage.

Investors have grown increasingly skeptical about the near-term revenue prospects of Eisai’s high-profile therapies. Moreover, competition in the neurodegenerative treatment space is intensifying, with rivals such as Eli Lilly advancing late-stage trials in Alzheimer’s and related cognitive conditions.

Pharmaceutical companies more broadly are grappling with increased scrutiny from regulators, pricing pressure, and policy uncertainty. The Inflation Reduction Act’s drug pricing provisions, while not yet fully implemented, have added to the market’s caution toward drugmakers reliant on premium pricing models. Eisai’s stock is down over 38% year-to-date, indicating that its core therapeutic franchise is underperforming market expectations, even in a healthcare-friendly trading environment.

Why did agilon health, Rocket Companies, and MicroAlgo also decline?

agilon health, inc., which offers tech-enabled primary care services for senior citizens, declined 3.36% to $5.18. Investor confidence in value-based care models has weakened, particularly those dependent on Medicare Advantage contracts. Regulatory oversight and payment model revisions from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have cast doubt on the long-term scalability and profitability of these platforms.

Rocket Companies, Inc., a leader in digital mortgage and financial services, fell 3.34% to $12.75. Despite interest rate stability, declining home affordability and limited refinancing activity continue to weigh on the company’s growth outlook. With the housing market cooling and the Federal Reserve holding off on significant rate cuts, Rocket faces a sluggish origination environment.

MicroAlgo Inc., a small-cap AI and algorithmic software firm, lost 2.82% to close at $18.28. The company, which has attracted speculative interest from retail investors due to its AI branding, lacks the product clarity and revenue consistency of larger competitors. As investors rotate into more established names in the artificial intelligence sector, MicroAlgo’s volatility has made it increasingly less attractive to institutional buyers.

How did the broader market rally impact sector sentiment—and why did these stocks miss out?

The broader rally on April 9 was fueled by President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day suspension of most tariffs, easing fears of a prolonged trade war. This unexpected move sparked a historic relief rally across major indices. The S&P 500 gained nearly 10%, and the Nasdaq Composite followed with one of its best days in decades. Yet the rally was not universally shared, and sector-specific pressures dictated underperformance among certain stocks.

While tariff pauses boosted market sentiment, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that the US economy remains vulnerable to recession if long-term trade tensions escalate. This uncertainty continues to weigh on companies with global exposure, especially those operating in sectors sensitive to foreign policy, regulatory risk, and demographic shifts.

The sharp contrast between index-level performance and individual stock declines illustrates a fragmented market recovery. Investors are selectively rewarding companies with predictable earnings, strong balance sheets, and defensive market positions, while rotating away from speculative, international, or policy-sensitive names.