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Financial Markets 05/09 15:38
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks drifted through a quiet Friday as Wall Street
closed an unusually calm week.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to finish the week with a modest dip of 0.5%. It's
the first week in seven where the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts
moved by less than 1.5%, after careening on fears about President Donald
Trump's trade war and hopes that he'll relent on some of his tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 119 points, or 0.3%, while the
Nasdaq composite edged up by less than 0.1%. They finished the week with even
more modest losses than the S&P 500.
The week's main event for financial markets is likely coming on Saturday.
That's when high-level U.S. and Chinese officials will meet in Switzerland for
their first talks since Trump launched an escalating trade war between the
world's two largest economies. The fear among investors and economists is that
a recession could hit if the United States doesn't reach trade deals that lower
its tariffs by enough and quickly enough.
Trump on Friday floated the idea of bringing tariffs on Chinese imports down
to 80% from their current 145% rate, but he said it'll be up to Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent, who will be in Switzerland. While 80% would indeed be
a reduction, it would still be high, and Trump's posting on social media caused
a brief jolt in financial markets. Futures for U.S. stocks sank immediately.
But markets quickly calmed as the wait continued for what U.S. and Chinese
officials will say after their meeting.
Trump also talked up the potential for more trade deals that could be on the
way with other countries, following his announcement the day before on an
agreement with the United Kingdom.
"Many Trade Deals in the hopper, all good (GREAT!) ones!" he said on his
Truth Social network.
In the meantime, the flow of earnings reports for the start of the year from
companies is slowing but still moving the market.
Expedia sank 7.3% even though the travel website reported a stronger profit
for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
The owner of Vrbo and Hotels.com said demand was weaker than it expected
during the quarter, and it highlighted softer-than-expected demand in the
United States, as well as a nearly 30% decline in bookings from Canada to its
southern neighbor.
Other travel-related companies, including Hilton and Airbnb, have reported a
similar softening in travel demand to the U.S. in their recent earnings reports.
Sweetgreen wilted by 16.2% after the salad seller reported a slightly larger
loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The fast-casual restaurant
chain also gave a forecast for revenue over the full year that fell just short
of analysts' estimates.
They helped work against a 28.1% rally for Lyft, which delivered a stronger
profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company said it
reached the highest weekly ridership levels in its history during the last week
of March.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the chip giant known as TSMC, offered an
encouraging report, saying its revenue in April leaped 48.1% from a year
earlier. That sent its stock that trades in the United States up 0.7%.
Insulet jumped 20.9% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the medical
device company reported stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts
expected. The company, which sells tubeless insulin pump technology, also
raised its forecast for an underlying revenue trend for the full year.
All told, the S&P 500 slipped 4.03 points to 5,659.91. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average fell 119.07 to 41,249.38, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.78
to 17,928.92.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in Europe after finishing
mixed in Asia.
Stocks added 0.4% in Hong Kong but fell 0.3% in Shanghai after China
reported that its exports rose at a faster-than-expected 8.1% annual pace in
April. Exports to the United States dropped more than 20%, however, as Trump's
steep tariff increases took effect. China is the world's biggest exporter.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.38% from
4.37% late Thursday.
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AP Writers Jiang Junzhe and Matt Ott contributed.
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