Stocks broke a two-week winning streak Friday as investors grew more tentative about upcoming trade talks with China despite talk by President Donald Trump of lower tariffs. As a result, gold rose amid the growing risk-off outlook on the stock market today.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.3% lower on Friday, while the S&P 500 edged downward, as both also ended two-day winning streaks. The Nasdaq managed to eke out a slim gain.
The Dow tested its 10-week moving average on Friday while the other two indexes continued to sit above their 10-week lines. All three indexes face resistance at the 40-week line.
Small caps on the Russell 2000 trimmed losses to 0.2%. Like the major indexes, the Russell also resides between its 10-week and 40-week lines.
Volume was lower on the New York Stock Exchange and higher on the Nasdaq compared with the same time on Thursday. Breadth improved a bit in the last hour of trading with advancers ahead of decliners on the NYSE. Decliners, however, beat advancers on the Nasdaq.
The Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund ended 0.3% lower as its advance from April lows faces a barrier at the 200-day moving average. Meanwhile, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was unchanged at 4.37%.
Also, gold rose as uncertainty about tariff talks took the shine off the recent optimism fueled by a 90-day tariff pause, issued on April 9.
Among Friday's gainers, Ibex soared more than 20% and broke out from a double-bottom base with a buy point of 26.76. Penumbra, an IBD Leaderboard stock, rose higher in a buy zone with its entry at 288.57.
3:23 p.m. ET
China Exports To U.S. Plunge
According to The Wall Street Journal, China exports to the U.S. fell 21% in April as tariffs went into effect. That contrasts with March, in which shipments rose 9.1% from a year earlier.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Secretary Jamieson Greer are expected to meet with Chinese officials over the weekend to start trade negotiations.
1:51 p.m. ET
Trump: 80% Tariffs On China 'Seems Right'
On Friday, President Trump said in a social media post that "80% tariffs on China seems right," down from the hefty 145% levies on that nation that he announced in April. But a final outcome must wait at least until the weekend meeting.
On Friday, Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr joined New York Fed President John Williams in sounding warnings about inflation. Williams said it was important to keep long-term inflation in check as tariffs push prices higher.
Barr added that the Fed could be in a difficult position if both inflation and unemployment rise, though policy makers can remain patient for now. The Fed kept rates unchanged on Wednesday and is waiting for inflation to get closer to 2% before it lowers interest rates.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares jumped 5% as the electric-vehicle giant prepares for its June robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas. Tesla cleared its 200-day moving average. Shares fell below that threshold in early March and failed to get above it until Friday.
12:54 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Who Prospered, And Who Didn't
Among the S&P 500 sectors, consumer discretionary, real estate and energy rose while communication services and consumer staples fell.
Among Investor's Business Daily's 197 industry groups, retail-wholesale office supply and auto manufacturers gained along with telecom infrastructure stocks while retail mail order, specialty enterprise software and security software groups fell.
Market Eyes U.S.-China Talks; Tesla, Palantir In Focus
11:51 a.m. ET
Dow Jones Stocks: Nvidia, Amazon, Apple
Among Dow stocks, Magnificent Seven stocks trimmed early gains. Nvidia reversed lower, at risk of breaking a three-day winning streak. Microsoft also turned lower while Apple held some of its early gains.
But retail giant Walmart also lagged along with McDonald's. Walmart still hovered in a buy zone out of a cup with handle with an entry at 96.03.
10:52 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Cloudflare Gaps Up
Among earnings, Cloudflare gapped up more than 5% after first quarter earnings of 16 cents per share met views while sales of $479.1 million topped estimates of $469.3 million. The company's sales outlook for the current quarter was also in line with analyst expectations.
Shares had retaken the 50-day moving average headed into earnings and briefly cleared a double-bottom entry at 132.41 on Friday.
Meanwhile, Affirm delivered a weak outlook for the current quarter. A sales forecast of $830 million at the midpoint was lower than analyst estimates of $841.4 million. Shares fell more than 5% on the stock market today and tested their 200-day moving average.
How Invested In The Stock Market Should You Be Right Now?
Affirm and Cloudflare are on the IBD 50.
Meanwhile, shares of Lyft soared more than 20% on earnings. Sales during the first quarter rose 14% to $1.45 billion. Earnings of 1 cent per share surprised Wall Street as analysts had expected a loss of 1 cent per share. The company also announced better-than-expected bookings and a bigger share buyback program. Shares rebounded from their 200-day moving average in higher volume.
Among cryptocurrency plays, Coinbase fell more than 1% after reporting a decline in earnings. Sales grew 24% to $2 billion but earnings of $24 per share fell from the previous year when the cryptocurrency exchange had announced $4.40 per share in earnings.
Please follow VRamakrishnan on X/Twitter for more news on the stock market today.
