Market Highlights

The great Wall Street rebound resumed in earnest as stocks staged a late-day comeback even as fears grow that the US economy will buckle under the weight of Donald Trump’s trade war. A month of historic volatility ended on that same note, with the S&P 500 wiping out a 2% slide for the firsttime since 2022. Hopes that trade talks will prove constructive firmedup sentiment, after a report that the US has been proactively reaching out to China through various channels. At the same time, a cohort of investors is betting the Federal Reserve will administer its policy medicine to forestall a recession.

Wall Street traders are cautiously adding fuel to the stock rebound, in a high-stakes bet that Corporate America will weather slowing economic growth and tariff-fueled disruptions to earnings. Investors looked past weak consumer confidence and labor data to send the S&P 500 up 0.6%. The gauge notched its best six-day run since March 2022, rising about 8% in the span. The Nasdaq 100 is close to erasing all of its losses since April 2, when President Donald Trump announced his trade offensive. Treasuries extended their April gains, with 10-year yields dropping below 4.2%. The dollar rose against most major currencies.

A late-day wave of dip buying erased losses in stocks, with Wall Street investors awaiting a slew of corporate earnings and economic data for insights on the impacts of President Donald Trump’s tariff war. As the S&P 500 closed higher for fiveconsecutive sessions, the American equity benchmark posted its longest winning streak since November. Monday marked the fifthtime in the past month the index fully wiped out an intraday gain or drop of 1% or more. The number of reversals already matches the total seen in the entire year of 2024. Boeing Co. and International Business Machines Corp. led gains in blue chips. Nvidia Corp. sank on news Huawei Technologies Co. is set to test a new AI chip. Megacaps Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. will report results in coming days. Treasuries rose. The dollar fell.

A solid Wall Street week ended with gains for stocks as a rally in the market’s most-influential group offset conflicting signals about progress in President Donald Trump’s trade negotiations. The surge in megacaps sent the S&P 500 above 5,500, with the gauge notching its longest advance since January. Tesla Inc. jumped 9.8% while Alphabet Inc. climbed on solid results. Equities briefly lost steam as Trump suggested another delay to reciprocal tariffs was unlikely, and he wouldn’t drop tariffs on China without “something substantial” in return. Worries about the economic fallout from tariffs drove US consumer sentiment to one of its lowest readings on record while long-term inflation expectations climbed to the highest since 1991. As investors weighed mixed signs on whether the trade war between the world’s two largest economies is de- escalating, Bloomberg News reported China is considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports.

Wall Street investors weighing the impacts of Donald Trump’s trade war on Corporate America sent stocks climbing amid bets the Federal Reserve could cut rates sooner than anticipated to prevent a recession. The S&P 500 rose 2% to the highest since the day Trump announced his tariff offensive. The president said the US is talking with China on trade despite Beijing’s denial. In late hours, Alphabet Inc. jumped on solid earnings. Intel Corp. gave a weak forecast. Bond yields slid on wagers Fed Chair Jerome Powell will be under pressure to ease policy if the labor market unravels. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he’d support rate cuts in the event aggressive tariff levels hurt the jobs market. Fed Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack told CNBC the central bank could move on rates as early as June if it has clear evidence of the economy’s direction.

Signs Donald Trump is rethinking the most-aggressive elements of his combative stances on trade and the Federal Reserve spurred back-to-back gains in stocks and the dollar, while soothing volatility across asset classes. After a report that the US would be willing to phase in lighter tariffs on Beijing over five years on Wednesday, Trump told reporters that China was “going to do fine” once talks had settled. Meantime, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the president hasn’t offered to take down US tariffs on China on a unilateral basis. The S&P 500 rose 1.7%, though it pared an earlier surge that had swelled to as much 3.4%, as investors tried to gauge how seriously to take pronouncements of flexibility in negotiations with China and other trading partners. The greenback climbed against most major currencies. Long- maturity Treasury yields fell as Trump allayed fears he would fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The yen slid as Bessent said America won’t be pursuing specific exchange-rate targets in its talks with Japan. Bitcoin jumped while haven trades like gold pushed lower.

US stocks jumped, wiping out Monday’s plunge, as traders unleashed risky bets that the White House will clinch crucial trade deals with top economic partners. The dollar recovered slightly from Monday’s lows while short-term Treasury yields climbed. The S&P 500 rose 2.5% — notching its best day since April 9 — after a series of reports nurtured Wall Street expectations that tariff-related hostilities are easing as the US makes progress in fleshing out agreements. Traders are now turning to Tesla Inc.’s earnings. The stock rose 4.6% on Tuesday but remains 41% lower this year as controversy over CEO Elon Musk’s role in the federal government has contributed to a global sales slump.

Heavy selling lashed Wall Street anew Monday, with longer-dated Treasuries joining stocks and the dollar in a deepening slump, after President Donald Trump’s rejection of Jerome Powell’s interest- rate policy sowed angst among investors already coping with a global trade war. Trump’s assurances that tariff talks were progressing did little to stop the rout. The S&P 500 and other major US stock indexes tumbled around 2.5% each in light trading, while a gauge of the dollar weakened to a 15-month low. The benchmark 10-year fell with the yield reaching 4.4%. As investors turned away from US securities, haven assets climbed. Gold jumped to another record, above $3,500 an ounce, while the Swiss franc gained around 1% against the dollar.

Warnings from Jerome Powell that trade tensions risk undermining the Federal Reserve’s employment and inflation goals whipped up fresh volatility on Wall Street Wednesday, with stocks resuming sharp declines while haven assets like Treasuries and gold surged. Two days of relative calm were broken as the Fed chief signaled a wait-and-see approach to President Donald Trump’s tariff offensive, pushing back on hopes he would act quickly to soothe investors. Stocks extended losses that began earlier when two big semiconductor companies reported earnings disappointments linked to the global trade war. The S&P 500 ended the session down 2.2%. Technology stocks took the brunt of the beating with the Nasdaq 100 tumbling 3.0% after the White House imposed new restrictions on Nvidia Corp.’s chip exports to China. The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell around fivebasis points to 4.28%.

Stocks whipsawed as President Donald Trump’s fast-evolving tariff war with top trade partners showed little signs of abating, leaving investors unwilling to take on too much risk after a two-day rally. That’s even as results from Wall Street’s financial heavyweights underscored an equity-trading boon and still-healthy consumers and businesses. After climbing almost 1%, the S&P 500 finished lower. In late hours, United Airlines Holdings Inc. stood by its full-year profit outlook, but warned a “recessionary” scenario would erode demand and dramatically lower earnings.