Wall Street’s main indexes were muted on Friday, as investors awaited more clarity on U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff plans after robust gains in the last sessions, with all three benchmarks set for weekly gains.
Trump tasked his economics team on Thursday with devising plans for reciprocal tariffs on every country taxing U.S. imports, though the directive stopped short of imposing fresh tariffs.
Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for commerce secretary, said the administration would address each affected country one by one and said studies on the issue would be completed by April 1.
“The tariff news created a lot of volatility about two weeks ago, but right now it seems that the markets are looking past it,” said Larry Tentarelli, chief technical strategist and founder of Blue Chip Daily Trend Report.
“The markets probably see the tariffs as more of a negotiating tool than anything else.”
Imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, a bigger-than-expected rise in January’s consumer prices and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell added to market volatility this week, with uncertainty likely to persist.
However, all three major indexes are set for robust weekly gains, with the S&P 500 currently just shy of its record high hit three weeks ago.
Wall St advances after mixed data eases inflation spike fears
The S&P 500 closed about 1% higher on Thursday, boosted by gains in Nvidia, Apple and Tesla.
Stocks also got a boost after data showed U.S. producer prices increased in January, while key elements in the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, a measure closely tracked by the Fed, were benign or lower.
Traders are fully pricing in at least one 25-basis-point interest rate cut by the end of the year, with an about 50% chance of an additional such reduction, as per data complied by LSEG.
At 9:40 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged at 44,711.17. The S&P 500 gained 4.61 points, or 0.08%, to 6,119.68 and the Nasdaq Composite inched 4.47 points, or 0.02%, higher to 19,950.12.
Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors traded higher, with energy leading gains with a 1.5% rise, tracking rising oil prices.
Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales fell more than expected in January, dropping 0.9% last month after an upwardly revised 0.7% increase in December.
Yields across U.S. government bonds ticked lower after the data, with the one on the 10-year note last at 4.47%.
Nvidia outpaced most megacap and growth stocks, adding 1.4%.
Airbnb jumped 12.3% after the vacation home rentals company posted higher quarterly revenue.
DaVita dropped 14.7% after the dialysis firm projected annual profit below estimates. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway also sold some of its shares in the company.
U.S. markets will remain closed on Monday for the Washington’s Birthday holiday.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.91-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.64-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 23 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 81 new highs and 20 new lows.
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