Wall Street fell for much of Friday's session but pared most of their losses following President Donald Trump's anticipated statement on the White House's stance on China. Trump's delivered speech was interpreted as less of a negative risk than many market participants had feared, turning both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq positive before market close. For the week, all three benchmarks posted gains, ending at their highest levels since March. The Dow and S&P both increased around 4% for the month of May and the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared more than 6%, making May the second straight month of gains after the coronavirus pandemic market crash.
President Trump addressed the nation on his new stance on Beijing on Friday, stating that the United States will be creating a working group to investigate Chinese companies that trade on U.S. stock exchanges. Trump also directed his administration to no longer recognize Hong Kong as separate from China, thus revoking its special status.
Before Trump's landmark announcement, investors were also concerned about new economic data that shows that recovery may take longer than hoped. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that personal savings levels in April reached an all time record high of 33%, way above March's 12.7%. This was in addition to personal spending falling 13% even with personal incomes increasing an unexpected 10.5%.
"The increase in personal income in April primarily reflected an increase in government social benefits to persons as payments were made to individuals from federal economic recovery programs in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic," the B.E.A. said in a statement.
Yet, University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers found that consumer sentiment had stabilized in May, remaining largely unchanged from pervious levels but still way below that of May 2019. It seems that economy recovery will hinge on how soon the general public feels economically secure again, which can take time.
Here's how the market settled for the week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
In Major Stock News, Twitter
In Stock Sector News, stocks ended the day on a mixed note as market sentiment was mostly uncertain throughout much of the session ahead of Trump's remarks on China. The majority of sectors that ended the day in positive territory were Health Care +1.27%, Information Technology +1.18%, Utilities +0.80%, Communication Services +0.71%, Consumer Discretionary +0.68%, Consumer Staples +0.16% and Materials +0.09%. The rest that maintained their early losses were Financials -1.21%, Real Estate -0.80%, Industrial -0.63% and energy -0.15%.
In Commodity and Currency News, U.S. crude soared to a three-month high on Friday, with West Texas Intermediate settling just below $35.50 per barrel. Crude barrel prices surged 62% since the historic crash in mid-April. International benchmark Brent Crude
For Monday, investors will most likely focus on weekend headlines pertaining to China's response to Trump's statement.
