AFM Weekly Update

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Week of Apr. 7 through Apr. 11, 2025

The S&P 500 index rose 5.7% this week after the Trump administration paused most of its retaliatory tariffs.

The S&P 500 ended Friday's session at 5,363.36, up significantly from last week's closing level, but down 4.4% for April and 8.8% for the year.

The market had a turbulent start to the second quarter amid worries about the economic impacts of the US's sweeping retaliatory tariffs that started earlier this month, prompting sharp stock declines. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a three-month pause on most tariffs for countries other than China, on which the administration increased its rate to 145%.

China retaliated by raising its tariffs on US products to 125%.

US consumer sentiment soured in April as year-ahead inflation expectations reached the highest point since 1981, according to a University of Michigan report. The main sentiment gauge slid to 50.8 this month from 57 in March. The consensus was for a 53.5 print in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The Q1 reporting season began with JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) reporting better-than-expected results on their top and bottom lines while Wells Fargo (WFC)'s earnings topped views but its revenue missed expectations. On a weekly basis, JPMorgan's shares rose 12%, Morgan Stanley's shares added 8.3% and Wells Fargo's shares edged up 2.5%.

The technology sector had the largest percentage increase of the week, jumping 9.7%, followed by a 6.5% climb in industrials, a 6.4% rise in communication services and a 5.6% gain in financials. Consumer discretionary, materials, consumer staples, utilities and health care also rose.

Broadcom (AVGO) was the top performer in the technology sector, soaring 24% as the company said its board authorized a share repurchase program to buy back up to $10 billion of common shares.

Among industrials, GE Vernova (GEV) had the largest percentage increase of the week, jumping 18%. The company's board declared a $0.25 per share quarterly dividend.

Still, energy shed 0.4% and real estate was down 0.2%.

Occidental Petroleum (OXY) led the energy sector's decliners, falling 7.1%. Analysts at TD Cowen and Scotiabank downgraded their investment ratings on the stock this week while multiple analysts also lowered their price targets on the shares.

Next week will be a heavy earnings week, with reports expected from companies including Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Netflix (NFLX) and American Express (AXP).

Economic reports will include March import prices, retail sales, industrial production, capacity utilization, housing starts and building permits.

Provided by MT Newswires.