Topline
Stocks rallied again Friday on a key data point showing strength in the U.S. economy and optimism about trade talks between the U.S. and China, sending the S&P 500 index toward its longest winning stretch in two decades, completing the v-shaped recovery from President Donald Trump’s tariffs which briefly crashed U.S. stocks.
The AI trade is back in vogue, with the likes of Meta, Palantir and Tesla all gaining at least 20% … More
Key Facts
The S&P rose 1.3% to 5,670 by late morning after April’s jobs report revealed better jobs growth than economists forecasted and Beijing indicated it’s open to discussing trade deals with the White House.
Should gains hold, Friday will be the ninth consecutive positive trading session for the S&P, which would be the longest winning streak for the benchmark since November 2004, according to Barron’s.
Following the end-of-week rally, the S&P hit its highest intraday price since April 2, when President Donald Trump announced country-by-country tariff rates in his so-called “Liberation Day” event.
The S&P plummeted more than 12% from April 2 to April 8, but stocks have steadily recovered since Trump paused his most hawkish trade policies April 9 and his administration further backed down on tariffs in the following weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and tech-heavy Nasdaq also gained more than 1% Friday and are up big from their tariff-driven April lows, as the Dow is up more than 9%, or 3,500 points, since April 8 and the Nasdaq is up 17% during the time frame.
Among the most notable risers Friday were Spotify, Delta Air Lines, Robinhood and Palantir, as shares of all four companies gained at least 5%; also jumping were Facebook parent Meta and Microsoft, which both enjoyed more than 2% bumps as a continuation of their rallies following robust earnings reports Tuesday.
Contra
The S&P is still down 8% from its February record high and 5% since Trump’s second presidency began. The stock market yardstick suffered its worst 100-day start to a presidential term since Richard Nixon’s second term in 1973, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Crucial Quote
“If the labor market holds up and the Trump administration walks back the most egregious tariffs, the economy could skirt a deep recession,” LPL Financial chief economist Jeffrey Roach in emailed comments.
Ai Stocks Lead The Tariff Recovery
About 90% of the 500 companies listed on the S&P have gained during the winning streak stretching back to last Tuesday. The top percentage gainers are all artificial intelligence players: AI-focused government contractor Palantir, AI hardware maker Arista Networks and AI data center power provider Vistra. Among the U.S.’ three dozen “mega-cap” companies valued at $200 billion and above, the biggest winners are Palantir, Elon Musk’s Tesla and Larry Ellison’s cloud computer Oracle. Shares of both Meta and Microsoft have also gained more than 20%.
But Apple Stock Tumbles
Not taking part in the Friday rally was Apple, as shares of the iPhone maker slid 4%. The big technology firm reported first-quarter earnings Thursday afternoon and nodded to the damaging effects of tariffs to its bottom line, warning of a $900 million direct profit hit from tariffs. A slew of companies have lowered or suspended financial guidance in light of tariff uncertainty.
