S&P Dips, Puts Damper on Winning Week Amid Sino-U.S. Trade Tensions
The S&P 500 wavered on Friday, to close out a big winning month, as investors shook off trade war fears after President Donald Trump said China violated its preliminary trade agreement.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 54.34 points on the day to finish the week at 42,270.07.
The much-broader index hesitated 0.48 points to 5,911.69.
The NASDAQ Composite weakened 62.11 points to 19,113.77.
Despite Friday’s choppy trading, stocks are on the verge of closing out May with strong gains following a rocky April. A chunk of the rally followed a trade deal announcement between the U.S. and United Kingdom early in the month, which investors hoped could pave the way for more agreements with other countries facing duties.
The S&P 500 added more than 5% this month, while the NASDAQ surged 9.5% in that time. Both are on track to notch their best months since November 2023. The 30-stock Dow has gained 3% on the month.
For the week, the S&P 500 advanced 1.5%, while the 30-stock Dow is up 1%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ acquired 1.9%.
“So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” Trump wrote in a social media post that said China had reneged on a deal that paused retaliatory tariffs between that country and the U.S.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in an interview Friday morning, echoed Trump’s allegation, saying “we’re very concerned with” China’s purported non-compliance with the temporary trade deal.
The “United States did exactly what it was supposed to do, and the Chinese are slow rolling their compliance,” said Greer.
He called that “completely unacceptable and has to be addressed.”
Among stocks of note, Gap faltered $5.64, or 20.2%, to $22.31.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury moved ahead, lowering yields to 4.40% from Thursday’s 4.44%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 18 cents to $60.76 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $25.90 of its luster to $3,291.20 U.S. an ounce.
