Nasdaq Ends A Four-Week Slide on Tariff Optimism, as the Dow and S&P Finish Flat

Following remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump that gave investors confidence that previously announced tariffs that were supposed to start in early April would not be as onerous as anticipated, the S&P and Dow managed to scrape out little gains on Friday, wiping out earlier losses.

Trump stated that tariffs will be loosened and that his top trade official will meet with his Chinese counterpart the following week. The president again restated his intention to reduce the U.S. trade imbalance with China by imposing levies.

The outlook for corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy route have been muddled by shifting statements over the timing and magnitude of tariffs, which has put pressure on markets in recent weeks.

The S&P rose more than 1% on Wednesday following the Fed’s most recent policy pronouncement, even the stocks exhibitingcations of bottoming this week. The central bank said two rate decreases were probable this year while keeping rates constant.

Still, it was alarming that investors’ attempts to rally the stock market mainly had failed, said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist for the U.S. SPDR Business at Boston-based State Street Global Advisors.

According to Arone, the causes are the Trump administration’s ongoing ambiguity about trade policy, ongoing worries about a slowdown in U.S. economic growth, and uncertainty about monetary policy’s direction.

While New York Fed President John Williams followed Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee in saying there is no urgency to alter monetary policy, Goolsbee said the central bank needed more time to “sort through” how Trump’s plans affect the economy.

The S&P 500 increased 4.67 points, or 0.08%, to 5,667.56, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 32.03 points, or 0.08%, to 41,985.35, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 92.43 points, or 0.52%, to 17,784.05. Early in the day, the S&P fell as high as 1.06%.

The Dow increased 1.2%, the Nasdaq up 0.17%, and the S&P 500 increased 0.5% for the week. The Dow saw its biggest weekly gain in two months, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq only managed to end four-week losing streaks.

Many businesses have begun lowering their projections before the results season starts next month. When FedEx lowered its full-year profit and sales projections, citing ongoing weakness and uncertainties in the U.S. industrial sector, the package transportation company’s stock fell 6.45%.

Peer UPS had a 1.61% decrease. Because delivery companies operate across various sectors, they are sometimes seen as a harbinger of the global economy. The delivery businesses impacted the Dow Jones Transport Index, which fell as high as 2.7% throughout the day before finishing at 0.2%.

After the sportswear manufacturer reported a more severe drop in fourth-quarter revenue than experts had predicted, Nike fell 5.46% to become the worst-performing Dow Industrial component.

A 5.78% decline in Nucor Corp. shares following the company’s first-quarter earnings prediction falling short of expectations weighed on the materials sector, down 1% for the day.

After Trump gave Boeing a contract to produce the most advanced fighter jet for the U.S. Air Force, the company’s stock rose 3.06%, outpacing rival Lockheed Martin, which fell 5.79%.

In addition, Friday’s session saw the “triple witching”—the simultaneous expiration of quarterly derivatives contracts linked to stocks, index options, and futures—which can increase market volatility. The declining issues to advancers ratio was 1.93 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.42 to 1 on the Nasdaq.

The Nasdaq Composite had 38 new highs and 188 new lows, while the S&P 500 saw nine new 52-week highs and 16 new lows. The biggest trading day since January 7 saw 21.05 billion shares traded on U.S. exchanges, compared to an average of 16.47 billion for the whole session for the previous 20 trading days.