Concerns over the Federal Reserve's independence faded later in the week
Though stocks sold off on Monday amid tensions between President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, those concerns were quickly alleviated, with the broader market ultimately seeing a strong week. Optimism regarding the U.S.-China trade war helped sentiment, though Trump's comments regarding the situation were more positive than China's. A megacap tech rally on Thursday helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) to their third-straight wins. At last glance on Friday, the three major benchmarks were struggling for direction, but remained on track for big weekly gains.
Blue Chips Making Moves
Plenty of blue-chip stocks made headlines this week. Verizon's (VZ) first-quarter earnings and revenue topped estimates, however, but the company reported a larger-than-expected loss of 289,000 postpaid net phone subscribers. Procter & Gamble (PG) and Merck (MRK) shares also marked post-earnings losses despite upbeat results, after both companies slashed their full-year forecasts. Elsewhere, Salesforce (CRM) and Amazon.com (AMZN) received downgrades, and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) stock is testing a key trendline on the charts that preceded bullish activity in the past.
What Sectors Were Highlighted?
Several sectors drew attention this week. Cruise stocks are succumbing to broader market pressure, but one of them has "buy-the-dip" potential. Cryptocurrency stocks enjoyed Bitcoin’s (BTC) renewed push back above $90,000, while electric vehicle (EV) names got a halo lift from Tesla’s (TSLA) mid-week post-earnings pop. Airline stocks remain deep in the red for 2025 amid pulled forecasts, China stocks got a brief reprieve this week, and these two pharma stocks staged opposite moves.
April Jobs Report, More Tech Earnings Coming
The end of April will bring a flood of economic data, including the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index and the closely watched April employment report. There will be plenty of earnings reports for investors unpack as well, including some from some high-profile tech names.
In the meantime, if you're wondering which stocks to target after a broader market pullback, Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White has you covered. Plus, there are a few S&P 500 trendlines to watch amid lingering volatility, per Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone.