US stocks pared earlier losses with big technology stocks driving gains and hopes for tariff deals overshadowing concerns over deteriorating consumer sentiment and mixed corporate earnings.
The S&P 500 Index rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq 100 Index gained 0.9% as of 1:12 p.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.1% and Russell 2000 Index fell 0.3%. The Cboe VIX Index hovered around 25.
Among single stock movers, Tesla Inc. jumped 9.8%, leading gains in Magnificent 7 stocks. Alphabet Inc. gained 2.2% after the Google parent reported first-quarter results that beat. Meanwhile, Intel Corp. slumped 6.7% after the chipmaker gave an outlook that was weaker than expected.
“Today’s market moves are mainly driven by investors’ excitement around Tesla as they cheered Elon Musk’s plan to scale back his work with President Donald Trump and Tesla’s plan to launch 10-to-20 Model Y robotaxis in Austin this June,” said Daniel Kirsch, head of options at Piper Sandler, adding that Alphabet earnings and commitment to capex also provided some relief about the outlook for tech.
As of 12:30 p.m. New York time retail investors net bought $1 billion of US stocks, above last month’s average of $488 million, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s global quantitative and derivatives strategist Emma Wu. Notably, there was profit-taking in Tesla. The so-called mom-and-pop investors sold $459 million worth of Tesla shares, halting a 12-day buying streak. On the other hand, Nvidia Corp. continued to lead the inflows.
On the tariff front, President Donald Trump said he expected to wrap up trade deals with US partners in three to four weeks. Meanwhile, China’s government is considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports, considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports, according to people familiar with the matter. Authorities are mulling removing the additional levies for medical equipment, some industrial chemicals like ethane as well as waiving the tariff for plane leases.
The S&P 500 is on pace to post a 4.2% weekly gain, which would be the second biggest weekly return since April 11. On a sector basis, information technology, consumer discretionary, and communication services are the biggest winners. While consumer staples, typically seen as a defensive sectors, is a laggard.
Still, to Bank of America Corp. strategists, investors should sell into rallies in US stocks and the dollar, cautioning that the conditions for sustained gains are missing.
Foreign investors have sold $63 billion of US equities since the start of March, Goldman Sachs strategists estimate, with Europeans driving the selling. Meanwhile, on a weekly basis, long-only global equity funds have their first weekly inflow since January, at $800 million, according to BofA.
The US stock market may also see less support from corporate buybacks. Goldman Sachs’ buyback desk is lowering estimates for US corporate share repurchases, following the research team who also trimmed forecasts. The desk now estimates the full market, including the S&P 500 and the Russell 3000, will see $1.35 trillion of buyback authorizations this year, versus $1.45 trillion previously.
Earlier Friday, data showed US consumer sentiment fell to one of the lowest readings on record and long-term inflation expectations climbed to the highest since 1991 on fears of the economic fallout from tariffs. Some 12% of the respondents surveyed predict that there is zero chance of a stock market rally over the next year. That is far and away the most negative that people have been in the 22-year history of that indicator.
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