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Wall Street on Friday ended marginally lower for the week, as market participants digested a slightly hawkish interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve. That was offset to an extent by positive sentiment on trade after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal with the United Kingdom.
The Fed's monetary policy committee on Wednesday kept the key federal funds rate unchanged, as widely expected. It also warned of a potential stagflation risk. "We think our policy rate is in a good place as we wait for further clarity on tariffs," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in his press conference afterward.
While the Fed remains in wait-and-see mode, there was progress on trade. Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. had reached a "breakthrough" deal with the UK, which will provide increased access for billions of dollars of U.S. products. Trump also expressed optimism that China wanted to make a deal, ahead of talks between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and representatives from the Asian nation.
The first quarter earnings season also kept chugging along this week. Walt Disney (DIS) was one of the biggest names reporting. The world's second-largest entertainment company announced plans to open its first Middle East theme park in Abu Dhabi and delivered a quarterly beat.
For the week, the S&P (SP500) slipped -0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) shed -0.3%. The blue-chip Dow (DJI) fell -0.2%. Read a preview of next week's major events in Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch.
Seeking Alpha's Calls Of The Week
Reddit (RDDT) Results - Excellent Time To Load Up The Truck.
Hubbell (HUBB): AI Tailwinds Are Driving A Demand Recovery.
CrowdStrike's (CRWD) Sky-High Price Dulls My New Optimism.
BCE Makes It Official: Why 56% Dividend Cut Is Good News.
PEO: A Closed-End Oil And Gas Fund Now Yielding 10.5%.
Palantir's (PLTR) Warning Sign You Can't Ignore Any Longer.
Limited Upside for Apollo Amid Investment Spread Pressures.
Nutrien (NTR) Earnings - Expect More Near-Term Pressure.
Marvell Technology (MRVL) Likely Lost A Major Design Win.
COPX: Possible Scrap Export Curbs Complicate Copper Trade.
Weekly Movement
U.S. Indices
Dow -0.2% to 41,249. S&P 500 -0.5% to 5,660. Nasdaq -0.3% to 17,929. Russell 2000 +0.1% to 2,023. CBOE Volatility Index -3.4% to 21.9.
S&P 500 Sectors
Consumer Staples -1.1%. Utilities +0.5%. Financials +0.1%. Telecom -2.4%. Healthcare -4.3%. Industrials +1.1%. Information Technology +0.3%. Materials -0.4%. Energy +0.4%. Consumer Discretionary +0.8%. Real Estate -0.8%.
World Indices
London -0.5% to 8,555. France -0.3% to 7,744. Germany +1.8% to 23,499. Japan +1.8% to 37,503. China +1.9% to 3,342. Hong Kong +1.6% to 22,868. India -1.3% to 79,454.
Commodities and Bonds
Crude Oil WTI +4.7% to $61.02/bbl. Gold +3.1% to $3,344./oz. Natural Gas +4.6% to 3.795. Ten-Year Bond Yield -0.2 bps to 4.381.
Forex and Cryptos
EUR/USD -0.42%. USD/JPY +0.28%. GBP/USD +0.26%. Bitcoin +7.4%. Litecoin +18.8%. Ethereum +27.8%. XRP +7.9%.
Top S&P 500 Gainers
Insulet (PODD) +21%. Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) +17%. Rockwell Automation (ROK) +16%. Microchip Technology (MCHP) +15%. The Walt Disney (DIS) +15%.
Top S&P 500 Losers
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) -15%. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN) -13%. Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) -12%. Match Group (MTCH) -11%. Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) -11%.
Where will the markets be headed next week? Current trends and ideas? Add your thoughts to the comments section.
