Stocks rose Friday as investors shook off lackluster consumer sentiment data, pushing the broader market to a strong week of gains from explosive trading momentum following the United States and China's tariff truce. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed over 300 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Consumer Sentiment fell in May's preliminary reading, according to a University of Michigan survey released Friday, as Americans remain worried about the impact of tariffs on their buying power.
The headline consumer sentiment index came in at 50.8 in the latest reading, down from April's final print of 52.2 and marking the second-lowest reading on record -- behind June 2022. Beneath the headline, one-year inflation expectations rose to 7.3% from the previous month's 6.5%, while long-term inflation outlooks edged up to 4.6% from 4.4%.
"Tariffs were spontaneously mentioned by nearly three-quarters of consumers, up from almost 60% in April; uncertainty over trade policies continues to dominate consumers' thinking about the economy," said Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers, in a statement.
Much of the survey's data was gathered before the U.S. and China announced a 90-day trace on most import duties between the two nations, so May's final reading could reflect initial impressions from consumers over the Trump administration's ever-evolving trade policies.
Wall Street remained optimistic throughout the week that the Trump administration will be able to reach more trade deals with key partners in the coming weeks, leading the S&P 500 to rose over 5% and erase of all its losses from its brief bear market reached in April. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped more than 7% this week, led by double-digit gains from Nvidia
President Donald Trump on Friday said his administration plans to send letters to many countries over the next few weeks to detail new tariff rates in lieu of individual trade negotiations.
