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U.S. stocks rose sharply Friday afternoon to close out a historically turbulent week, as investors absorbed rising trade tensions, falling consumer confidence numbers, and a wave of major bank earnings.
After a turbulent Thursday that saw major U.S. market indexes sink sharply, the Dow Jones Industrial Average concluded the day up 619 points, or about 1.5%. The S&P 500 added 1.8%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose almost 2.1%.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM+4.84%) finished Friday up 4% after the bank reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue. BlackRock (BLK+3.01%) gained 2.6% following its own earnings beat, while Morgan Stanley (MS+2.05%) shares rose 1.4% following strong performance across its major business lines. Wells Fargo (WFC-0.63%) slipped almost 1%, underperforming its peers.
Big Tech names also posted gains. Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL+2.68%) ended up 2.6%, Microsoft (MSFT+1.86%) gained 1.9%, and Apple (AAPL+4.00%) rose 4.1%.
The gains suggested that while concerns over tariffs and political volatility remain top of mind, corporate results — especially from key financial players — are offering some reassurance to investors as earnings season kicks off.
However, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon cautioned that the economy is facing “considerable turbulence,” highlighting risks from “sticky inflation,” high fiscal deficits, elevated asset prices, and escalating “tariffs and ‘trade wars.’” He pointed to analysts’ revised earnings estimates for the S&P 500 as a possible sign of pain to come.
Appearing on CNBC (CMCSA+0.39%) Friday, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink echoed Dimon’s sentiments, saying that he expects a “slowdown” across the board and that the U.S. may be in a recession soon — if it isn’t already.
And U.S. consumers are growing deeply uneasy. According to preliminary data released Friday by the University of Michigan, consumer sentiment has declined 11% since March. This marks the fourth consecutive monthly decline and a 30% decrease since December 2024.
Market anxiety deepens
Overnight, China announced a steep escalation in its trade retaliation, raising tariffs on U.S. imports from 84% to 125%. Chinese officials said the new rates effectively render U.S. goods uncompetitive — and that any further tariff increases from Washington would be treated as economically irrelevant.
Meanwhile, gold surged to a record high above $3,200 an ounce as the bond selloff resumed and investors fled U.S. assets.
Long-dated Treasury yields spiked again, signaling persistent fears over inflation and policy volatility. The U.S. dollar also slid, with the ICE Dollar Index down more than 1% to its lowest level in nearly three years. Deutsche Bank (DB+4.21%) analysts quoted by the New York Times cited the “radical vision and volatile policy” of the Trump administration as a major reason for the depreciation of key U.S. assets.
Tariffs hit consumers, some analysts go quiet
Consumer-facing companies are also beginning to warn of downstream effects.
Amazon (AMZN+1.90%) CEO Andy Jassy said the newly announced tariffs are already prompting third-party sellers to raise prices and consumers to stockpile. While Amazon is trying to soften the blow by stockpiling inventory and renegotiating with suppliers, Jassy acknowledged inflationary pressures are likely to ripple through.
Meanwhile, the political climate may be adding its own chill. JPMorgan Chase strategist Michael Cembalest revealed this week that he has begun softening his public commentary on tariffs, citing the tense environment and recent executive orders targeting firms and individuals associated with Trump-era investigations.
Other analysts are speaking out, however, with Wedbush releasing a memo Friday morning that didn’t mince words.
“The economic tariff Armageddon unleashed by Trump last week has been the dark black cloud over stocks since this fiasco began and so far it’s been a Wall Street/stock driven event…that is all about to change over the coming days and weeks for U.S. consumers and businesses with the China 145% tariff now in place,” the memo said.
“The self-inflicted uncertainty from the China tariffs has turned the corporate capital expenditures world upside down, created mass uncertainty not seen since Covid, created a price shock that will impact the daily lives of U.S. consumers with no end in sight, and unfortunately ripped the hearts and lungs out of the U.S. Big Tech supply chain in the process with no minimal to no alternatives.”
