Wall Street has made progress, achieving weekly gains as investors assessed a series of earnings reports and searched for indications of reduced tensions in the US-China trade conflict.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq benefited from increases in the so-called “magnificent seven” group of major artificial intelligence companies, while the blue-chip Dow saw more modest changes.
The small-cap Russell 2000 experienced its biggest weekly percentage gain since November.
Beijing exempted certain US imports from its hefty 125 percent tariffs but refuted claims made by Trump regarding negotiations. This follows recent de-escalating comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, indicating that the two largest economies in the world may be easing trade war tensions that have unsettled markets for weeks.
“We’re anticipating a positive close to what has been a strong week,” said Greg Bassuk, CEO of AXS Investments in New York.
“The week began with a strong selling sentiment, but there was a significant rebound. Overall, it’s been a robust week largely driven by a sense of de-escalation in the trade conflict with China.”
The first-quarter earnings season is in full swing, with 179 companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Among these, 73 percent exceeded expectations, according to LSEG.
Analysts now project that aggregate S&P 500 earnings for the January to March period will rise by 9.7 percent year-on-year, which is brighter than the eight percent estimate as of April 1, according to LSEG.
However, investors are largely shifting their focus from results to future guidance, especially as many projections have been lowered or withdrawn due to economic uncertainties and reduced consumer spending.
The University of Michigan released its final report on April consumer sentiment. Although the index has been revised upward, it still remains at its lowest level since July 2022, with inflation expectations staying high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 20.10 points, or 0.05 percent, finishing at 40,113.50. The S&P 500 rose by 40.44 points, or 0.74 percent, to 5,525.21, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 216.90 points, or 1.26 percent, reaching 17,382.94.
Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, consumer discretionary and tech sectors led the advances, while materials experienced the most significant declines.
Alphabet’s shares rose by 1.7 percent after the parent company of Google reported a 28 percent increase in Google Cloud revenue and reassured investors about the returns on its AI investments.
Intel provided weak revenue and profit forecasts, resulting in a 6.7 percent drop in its stock price.
Shares of SLB, an oilfield services provider, fell by 1.2 percent after the company missed profit estimates for the first quarter and warned of a potential shift across the industry due to economic uncertainty and tariff risks.
Charter Communications surged by 11.4 percent after the broadband and cable company exceeded revenue estimates and gained more subscribers than anticipated.
On the NYSE, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1.33-to-1. There were 54 new highs and 27 new lows recorded.
On the Nasdaq, 2,317 stocks rose while 2,024 fell, resulting in a 1.14-to-1 ratio favoring advancing issues.
The S&P 500 set four new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite noted 32 new highs and 47 new lows.
Trading volume on US exchanges reached 14.30 billion shares, compared to the 19.13 billion average over the past 20 trading days.
