US stocks bounced back Friday, capping a volatile but bullish May. The S&P 500 rose over 6%, marking its best May since 1990 and best month since November 2023. The Nasdaq surged nearly 10%, while the Dow Jones gained 4%.
May Market Performance:
- S&P 500: +6%
- Dow Jones: +4%
- Nasdaq: +10%
On Friday, the Nasdaq dipped 0.3% after recovering from a 1.6% loss. The S&P 500 stayed flat and the Dow inched up 0.1%.
Markets brushed off tariff uncertainty and took comfort in cooling inflation from April’s core PCE data, which aligned with expectations — easing fears of further rate hikes.
Meanwhile, US-China tensions intensified. Bloomberg reported Trump plans to expand tech restrictions to subsidiaries of blacklisted Chinese firms. He also accused China of violating a recent trade deal.
A US appeals court revived uncertainty by pausing a ruling that had blocked Trump’s global tariffs — giving the administration until next Monday to respond.