AFM Weekly Update

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Week of May. 19 through May. 23, 2025

The S&P 500 index fell 2.6% this week, pushing the market benchmark back into the red for the year, amid a fresh round of tariff threats from the Trump administration.

The market benchmark ended the week at 5,802.82. The measure is still in positive territory for May with a month-to-date gain of 4.2%, but it is now down 1.3% for 2025.

A relief rally last week had put the S&P 500 in the black for the year for the first time in months. The year-to-date gain was short-lived as worries about tariff impacts sent the index back into the red. President Donald Trump threatened to place a 50% tariff rate on goods from the European Union and said Apple (AAPL) might have to pay a tariff of at least 25% for iPhones manufactured abroad.

All of the S&P 500's sectors fell on a weekly basis. The energy sector had the largest percentage drop, sliding 4.4%, followed by a 3.5% decline in technology, a 3.3% drop in real estate and losses of 3.1% each in consumer discretionary and financials. The smallest decline was logged by consumer staples, which edged down 0.4%.

Phillips 66 (PSX) was among the energy sector's hardest-hit stocks, falling 10% as the oil refiner's shareholders voted for two Elliott Investment Management nominees to the company's board based on preliminary results. A Reuters report also said Phillips 66 will start laying off most employees at its Los Angeles facility in December; the company previously said it would begin shutting down the plant in October, with job cuts to follow two months later.

Shares of solar companies weighed on the technology sector as US House Republicans passed a tax bill that eliminates important clean energy credits, according to media reports. Among the decliners, shares of Enphase Energy (ENPH) fell 21% and First Solar (FSLR) lost 11%.

In real estate, decliners included shares of Weyerhaeuser (WY), which fell 5.6% as the company said it has agreed to purchase nearly 117,000 acres of timberlands in North Carolina and Virginia from Roanoke Timberlands for $375 million. Weyerhaeuser also unveiled plans this week to sell its Princeton, British Columbia, lumber mill to the Gorman Group for approximately 120 million Canadian dollars ($86.6 million) in cash.

Next week, the US stock market will be closed on Monday for Memorial Day.

Economic data expected the rest of the week include April consumer spending and personal consumption expenditures, May consumer confidence and consumer sentiment, and the first revision to Q1 gross domestic product, among other reports.

Provided by MT Newswires.