S&P 500 is flat to close out a 6% May gain as investors continue to look past trade policy confusion

The S&P 500 finished Friday's rocky session session near flat.

The broad index ended slightly below its flatline. The Dow closed up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite ticked down 0.3%.

— Alex Harring

As of late morning in Friday's trading session, health care was the only sector in the S&P 500 pacing to end the month lower, last on track for a 5.8% decline.

The sector was weighed down for the month by declines in names such as UnitedHealth Group, which has fallen 26% in May after facing a myriad of troubles including suspending its annual forecast and the departure of CEO Andrew Witty. Shares also plunged in May following a report that the Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation over possible Medicare fraud.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has plunged 19% this month and was the sector's second-biggest laggard. The stock tumbled 20% on Friday alone after reporting mixed results in late-stage trials for a respiratory drug called itepekimab Regeneron was developing with Sanofi.

Some of the sector's other biggest decliners included Eli Lilly, Humana and Merck.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Despite Friday's downturn, the S&P 500 is on track to record its biggest month gain in about a year and a half.

The broad index has popped about 5.8% so far this trading month, which concludes with Friday's closing bell. That would be its best monthly performance since November 2023, when it surged nearly 9%.

— Alex Harring

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have run circles around the Dow this month.

The blue-chip Dow has gained more than 3% since May began. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have rallied more than 5% and 8%, respectively.

Small caps have also performed better, with the Russell 2000 rising more than 4%.

— Alex Harring

Stocks accelerated losses during midday trading Friday, as trade tensions with China returned to Wall Street.

Halfway through the 12 o'clock hour, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 309.57 points, or 0.73%, to their session lows. The S&P 500 slid 1.16%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.70%.

— Sarah Min

Check out some of the companies making headlines in midday trading.

• Costco — The wholesaler gained more than 3% on fiscal third-quarter results that surpassed analyst estimates, while sales jumped 8% from the same period a year ago.

• Ulta Beauty — Shares of the beauty retailer skyrocketed nearly 13% to hit a 52-week high after the company raised its annual profit forecast and crushed expectations with its quarterly results. Ulta said lower inventory losses as well as new launches helped drive demand at its stores.

• Gap — The apparel retailer plunged 20% after saying it sees current-quarter sales around flat from the year-earlier period. On the other hand, analysts had expected sales to grow 0.2%. This cloudy outlook outweighed Gap's first-quarter earnings and revenue beat.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

Tech stocks staged an impressive comeback in May, with investors piling onto the risk-on trade following a preliminary trade deal between the U.S. and China. On Friday, however, Trump said China has violated their agreement.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied more than 9% this month. Information technology stocks are the top-performing sector in the S&P 500, surging more than 10% in May; however, the sector remains negative for the year, down 2%.

— Sarah Min

Small-cap stocks lagged the broader market on Friday and in the trading week.

The small cap-focused Russell 2000 slipped 0.8% in Friday's session. By comparison, the S&P 500 ticked just 0.2% lower.

With Friday's downturn, the Russell 2000 has risen less than 1% on the week. The S&P 500 has jumped 1.7% over the same period.

— Alex Harring

Consumers grew a bit more optimistic on the economic outlook and less fearful of inflation after a cooling off in trade hostilities between the U.S. and China, a survey released Friday showed.

The University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers showed a revised 52.2 reading on sentiment, flat from April but a bit better than the previous level in mid-month. The level nonetheless was down 24.5% from a year ago. The expectations index edged up while the current conditions indicator nudged lower.

On inflation, the one-year outlook stood at a still-elevated 6.6% that was down more than half a percentage point from the mid-month level. At the five-year horizon, the outlook edged down to 4.2%, the first decline since December.

"Sentiment had ebbed at the preliminary reading for May but turned a corner in the latter half of the month following the temporary pause on some tariffs on China goods," said survey director Joanne Hsu. "Expected business conditions improved after mid-month, likely a consequence of the trade policy announcement."

—Jeff Cox

Investors have faded Nvidia's initial earnings move for a fourth time in a row, according to Bespoke Investment Group.

Nvidia reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue on Wednesday after the bell, as the company's booming data center business recorded year-over-year growth above 73%.

The chip giant's stock opened Thursday's trading 6.2% higher at $142.25, but the stock ended up closing below its open level at $139.19.

— Yun Li

Stocks kicked off Friday's session, the last of the trading week and month, in the red.

The Dow fell more than 100 points, or 0.3%, shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each also slid 0.3%.

— Alex Harring

These are the stocks moving the most in premarket trading:

• Ulta Beauty — The beauty retailer's shares rallied 9% after the firm raised its annual profit forecast and crushed expectations with its quarterly results.
• Airbnb — Shares slipped 3% after Truist Securities downgraded the short-term vacation home rental company to a sell rating from hold.
• Gap — The apparel retailer plunged 13% after it forecast sales to be flat for its current quarter, while analysts had expected growth of 0.2%.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

The personal consumption expenditures price index came in at 2.1% for April on an annualized basis. That's slightly below the 2.2% consensus forecast from economists polled by Dow Jones.

— Alex Harring, Jeff Cox

President Donald Trump accused China of violating its preliminary trade deal with the U.S.

"China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Stock market futures moved lower following the post.

— Jesse Pound

U.S.-China trade talks are "a bit stalled" and the two countries' leaders will likely need to speak directly, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News in an interview Thursday local time.

"I believe that we will be having more talks with them in the next few weeks," he said, adding that there may be a call between the two countries' leaders "at some point."

"I think that given the magnitude of the talks, given the complexity, that this is going to require both leaders to weigh in with each other," Bessent said during the interview. "They have a very good relationship and I am confident that the Chinese will come to the table when President [Donald] Trump makes his [preferences] known."

— Evelyn Cheng

The Trump administration is now considering using a provision of the Trade Act of 1974 to implement tariffs of up to 15% for 150 days, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This report comes as the administration searches for a legal avenue allowing the implementation of the plan for broad and steep tariffs. A court halted many such duties earlier this week, but an appeals court granted a stay until next week.

— Alex Harring

Pension rebalancing could put some pressure on stocks Friday.

A note from the Goldman Sachs trading desk showed that U.S. pension funds are expected to sell $20 billion of equities as part of their month-end rebalancing. This comes after stocks strongly outperformed major bond funds in May, meaning that institutions with strict asset allocation rules need to make significant trades to get back in balance.

"We're not used to sort of seeing the volatility we've seen in bonds, as well, and especially when you're working with something like pension funds or on the institution side, these fund flows can be in the billions easily. And when you start to see those rebalances take shape rather quickly, it can definitely be a short- to intermediate-term needle mover," said Bret Kenwell, U.S. investment analyst at eToro.

— Jesse Pound

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Friday, with a slowing U.S. economy, inflation fears and uncertainties from the judicial developments surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs weighing on investor sentiment.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 1.22% to end the day at 37,965.10, while the broader Topix index moved down 0.37% to 2,801.57 as investors parsed a slew of data releases.

Tokyo's core inflation reading for April, which captures consumer costs excluding fresh food, climbed 3.6% from a year ago, its highest level since January 2023.

In South Korea, the Kospi index dropped 0.84% to close at 2,697.67 while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.26% to 734.35.

Mainland China's CSI 300 index ended the day 0.48% lower at 3,840.23, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index retreated 1.2% to 23,289.77.

Meanwhile, India's benchmark Nifty 50 pulled back 0.22% while the BSE Sensex inched down 0.3% as at 1.40 p.m. Indian Standard Time.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to end the day at 8,434.70.

— Amala Balakrishner

Auto stocks in Asia are feeling the heat of the reinstatement of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Mazda Motor led losses in Japanese automakers, plunging 3.48% as at 2.23 p.m. Singapore time.

Other stocks that logged losses include Nissan Motor which retreated 2.47%, Mitsubishi Motors which fell 2.27% and Honda Motor which was down 1.37%.

Over in South Korea, Kia Corp dropped 3.76% while Hyundai Motor lost 2.72%.

Indian automakers were also trading in negative territory with the Nifty Auto index down 0.99%.

Among the worst performers were Bajaj Auto which fell 2.5%, Ashok Leyland which dropped 2.11% and Mahindra and Mahindra which lost 1.46%.

— Amala Balakrishner

Asian tech stocks fell Friday amid increased concerns over the the reinstatement of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade tariffs by the appeals court.

In Japan, sharp declines were seen in Lasertec which had plunged 4.19% and Renesas Electronics which retreated 3.98% as at 2.18 p.m. Singapore time.

Losses were also seen in Advantest Corp which dropped 3.89% and SoftBank Group which lost 3.33%.

Over in South Korea, chipmaker SK Hynix had declined 3.77%, while Samsung Electronics moved up 0.71%.

Tech companies in Hong Kong were in the red, with Robosense and Nio leading losses with declines of 5.57% and 5.78% respectively.

Sharp losses were seen in Xpeng which lost 4.79%, BYD which fell 5.58%, Alibaba which lost 4.4% and NetEase which dropped 4.2%. Losses were also seen in Baidu, which was down 3.6%, Tencent which fell 2.49% and Xiaomi which dropped 2.32%.

— Amala Balakrishner

Hong Kong stocks fell Friday as markets digested the reinstatement of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, a day after a court ruling blocking them.

The Hang Seng Index was down 1.48% as of 12.34 p.m. local time. Many major Chinese companies are listed on the index, which is up more than 15% since the start of the year. Its losses were led by the technology, consumer cyclical and education services sectors.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Hang Seng Tech Index was last seen down 2.55%.

Some of the worst performers on the index include data centre firm GDS Holdings, which plunged 7.51%, Horizon Robotics, which fell 5.94% and BYD Electronic International, which dropped 4.98%.

The Hang Seng Tech Index ETF shows the day's moves:

— Amala Balakrishner

Pessimism rebounded in the latest survey of Main Street investors by the American Association of Individual Investors. Bearish opinion toward stocks over the next six months grew to 41.9% this week from 36.7% last week, above its historical average of 31.0% for the 26th time in 28 weeks.

Bullish sentiment toward the short-term outlook dropped to 32.9% of poll respondents, down from 37.7% last week and below its historical average of 37.5% for the 16th time in 17 weeks.

In a special question, nearly 64% of those surveyed said "tariffs, the economy and/or inflation" are the factor most influencing their six-month outlook for stocks, trailed by corporate earnings (11%), valuations (10%) and monetary policy and interest rates (9%).

— Scott Schnipper

The April index for personal consumption expenditures is expected to show inflation still above 2% when it is released Friday morning.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect PCE to rise 0.1% month over month and 2.2% year over year. For core PCE, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, projections call for a 0.1% monthly increase and 2.6% for the year. Core PCE is the measure of inflation generally favored by the Federal Reserve.

Additionally, Vanguard economist Josh Hirt said in a note to keep an eye on potential "upward revisions to January and March PCEs due to [producer price index] revisions of hospitals, physicians, and insurance services."

Gene Goldman, Cetera CIO, told CNBC that he expects a cool inflation reading on Friday but doesn't think it will generate much market reaction. He said short-term data is noisy and still being impacted by factors like companies trying to front-run the tariffs by importing extra supplies and inventory earlier this year.

— Jesse Pound

Check out some of the companies making headlines in extended trading.

• Gap — The apparel stock plummeted more than 16% as lackluster second-quarter revenue guidance overshadowed an earnings beat for Q1. Gap expects Q2 revenue to remain about flat year over year. Analysts expected a forecast calling for a slight gain.

• Costco — The wholesale retailer reported quarterly results that beat analyst expectations, yet shares were little changed. The company earned $4.28 per share on revenue of $63. 2 billion. Analysts expected a profit of $4.24 per share on revenue of $63.19 billion. Same-store sales growth and gross margins were above estimates as well.

• Dell Technologies — Shares of the technology company gained more than 5% after first-quarter revenue surpassed analyst estimates. Dell reported revenue of $23.38 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG called for $23.14 billion. The company also raised its full-year earnings guidance.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

Stock futures were little changed on Thursday, as investors await more clarity on U.S. trade policy.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 38 points, or 0.09%. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1%, alongside Nasdaq 100 futures.

— Brian Evans