U.S. stocks largely ended the week on a high note after a muted opening Friday, as trade-war pessimism gave way to a fourth day of gains for the S&P 500. Meanwhile, Tesla (TSLA) spiked 9.8% as word spread that CEO Elon Musk would spend less time facilitating mass firings via DOGE.
The S&P 500 edged up 0.7% for the day, closing the week up about 4.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day up 20 points, or 0.5%, inching up 2.5% for the week. Plus, the Nasdaq gained 1.3% Friday, and 6.7% for the week, following Thursday’s tech-fueled rally.
The VIX sank to 24.97 Friday, while gold fell 0.9% — cooling off slightly from its recent historic surge.
The U.S.-China trade story took a strange turn, as President Donald Trump repeated that talks are underway — even though Beijing said they’re not. Chinese officials have flatly denied any negotiations are happening, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun urging the U.S. not to “mislead the public.”
The whiplash is fueling fresh skepticism over whether real progress is being made or if it’s just another series of vague hints meant to stabilize markets.
Amid the confusion over trade negotiations, Trump was asked in a Time magazine interview published Friday morning about a scenario in which tariffs remain as high as 50% a year from now, and whether he would consider that a victory.
“Total victory,” Trump said.
The University of Michigan’s latest look at consumer sentiment — which measures how people view their finances and the U.S. economy — dropped in April, extending its decline.
“Consumer sentiment fell for the fourth straight month, plunging 8% from March,” said Joanne Hsu, the director of surveys of consumers at the Institute for Social Research. The index came in at 52.2 for April — up from an initial reading of 50.8 earlier in the month, but down from 57.0 in March.
Hsu noted that consumers’ outlook has tanked 32% since January, “the steepest three-month percentage decline seen since the 1990 recession.” Additionally, consumers’ year-ahead inflation expectations rose to 6.5% in April, up from 5.0% in March; Hsu called it the “highest reading since 1981.”
Google (GOOGL) turned in a stunner after the bell Thursday: Revenue jumped 12% to $90.2 billion, net income surged 46% to $34.5 billion, and the company sweetened its dividend by 5% while greenlighting another $70 billion in buybacks. The results crushed expectations and delivered exactly what Wall Street wanted to see — big growth without cost sprawl.
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