Stocks closed higher Friday for the fourth straight day, led by big tech sector gains

Stocks closed higher Friday for the fourth straight day, led by big tech sector gains, as investors set aside ongoing uncertainty about tariffs and the economic outlook.

Stocks eked out small gains on Friday, setting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up for a fourth straight day of gains as investors digested ongoing uncertainty about tariffs and the economic outlook.

The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7% and 1.3%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average tacked on less than 0.1%. Stocks were coming off three days of gains that saw the major indexes rise at least 1.8% on Thursday. Investors were reacting to a slew of quarterly earnings reports from major companies and the possibility that President Donald Trump could scale back his tariff plans.

The major indexes posted gains for the week, the second time in the past three weeks they’ve done so. The Nasdaq was up 6.7% for the week, while the S&P 500 climbed 4.6% and the Dow tacked on 2.5%.

Despite the recent surge, uncertainty remains about what will happen with tariffs and what that could mean for the economic outlook. The Trump administration, which earlier this month paused for 90 days its plan to impose wide-ranging “reciprocal” tariffs, has said it’s negotiating with dozens of countries. Investors are particularly focused on U.S.-China trade relations—the countries have imposed tariffs in excess of 100% on one another—amid conflicting reports on where talks between the countries stand.

Shares of the world’s largest technology companies led the charge on Friday. Tesla (TSLA), which has surged since CEO Elon Musk said he’d start spending more time at the EV maker and less time working with the Trump administration, saw its stock jump 10%. The stock, which had its best week since November, benefited from news the White House plans to loosen rules governing autonomous vehicles.

AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) advanced 4% and Meta Platforms (META) gained nearly 3%. Alphabet (GOOG) saw its stock rise 1.5% after a strong earnings report that underscored the company’s AI success, and Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN) and Broadcom (AVGO) also saw their shares move higher.

Among other noteworthy post-earnings movers, Charter Communications (CHTR) stock soared 11% to lead S&P 500 gainers after the company added more mobile phone lines and lost fewer video customers than analysts had expected.

Intel (INTC) dropped 7% after the chipmaker issued a disappointing outlook that overshadowed better-than-expected first-quarter results, while shares of T-Mobile US (TMUS) tumbled 11% after the cellphone service provider said it added fewer wireless customers than expected.

Bitcoin was at $94,900 in late-afternoon trading, up from an overnight low of $92,900, giving stocks tied to crypto a boost. Strategy (MSTR), the big bitcoin buyer formerly known as MicroStrategy, was up 5%, while crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) rose 3%.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was up 0.3% at 99.62, after falling yesterday for the first time in three days. The index on Monday hit 97.92, its lowest level since March 2022, as concerns about tariffs and their potential impact on the U.S. economy weighed on sentiment.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which influences borrowing costs on all sorts of loans and has bounced around this month amid economic uncertainty, was at 4.24%, down from 4.31% at Thursday’s close and trading at its lowest level in two weeks.

Market participants will be keenly watching several important economic indicators that are slated to be released next week, including quarterly GDP numbers, a key inflation reading, and the April jobs report.

Gold futures fell 0.5% to $3,330 an ounce. The precious metal hit a record high of near $3,500 earlier this week as investors turned to the traditional safe haven amid the broader market volatility. Crude oil prices gained ground, with West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, rising 0.6% to $63.20 per barrel.

News data source: kdj.com

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