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TOP MARKET Specialist Michael Pistillo (left) works with traders Ryan Falvey (center) and Niall Pawa on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) NEW YORK — US stocks drifted through a quiet Friday as Wall Street and other markets closed an unusually calm week. The S&P 500 slipped 0.
1 percent percent to finish the week with a modest dip of 0.5 percent. It’s the first week in seven where the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts moved by less than 1.
5 percent. This was 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 percent. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq composite edged up by less than 0.1 percent.
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 US 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.
READ: Forging strategic ties with China 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 percent from their current 145 percent rate, but he said it’ll be up to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who will be in Switzerland. While 80 percent would indeed be a reduction, it would still be high.
Also, Trump’s posting on social media caused a brief jolt in financial markets. Futures for US stocks sank immediately. But markets quickly calmed as the wait continued for what US 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. This followed his announcement the day before on an agreement with the United Kingdom. READ: Trump unveils UK trade deal, first since tariff blitz “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. Still, this continued to move the market. Expedia sank 7.
3 percent 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.
It highlighted softer-than-expected demand in the United States. It also noted a nearly 30-percent decline in bookings from Canada to its southern neighbor. Other travel-related companies have reported a similar softening in travel demand to the US in their recent earnings reports.
These include Hilton and Airbnb. Sweetgreen wilted by 16.2 percent.
The salad seller reported a slightly larger loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also gave a forecast for revenue over the full year that fell just short of analysts’ estimates. They helped work against a 28.
1-percent rally for Lyft. It 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 offered an encouraging report. The chip giant known as TSMC said its revenue in April leaped 48.1 percent from a year earlier.
That sent its stock that trades in the United States up 0.7 percent. Insulet jumped 20.
9 percent for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. The medical device company reported stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company, which sells tubeless insulin pump technology, 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. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address.
I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in Europe after finishing mixed in Asia..
