New Surge on Wall Street, Strong Weekly Gains for US Stocks

With a new rise, the indices closed Friday’s session (16.05.2025) on , marking strong weekly gains. The stocks of Wall Street saw a robust recovery after US and Chinese officials earlier in the week agreed to a 90-day tariff ceasefire, which reduced investors’ fears about the escalation of global trade tensions and increased risks for the economy. Thus, in the final session of the week, the Dow Jones rose by 0.73%, the S&P 500 gained 0.69%, and the Nasdaq recorded gains of 0.52%. For the week, the S&P 500 marked an increase of over 5%, and the Dow climbed more than 3%, while the Nasdaq achieved a jump exceeding 6%. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow closed higher on Thursday, whereas the Nasdaq slightly retreated. A weaker-than-expected consumer sentiment measure put a brake on overall investor enthusiasm on Friday. The University of Michigan’s consumer survey fell to 50.8 in May from 52.2 in April, which is the second-lowest reading ever since June 2022. Consumers’ inflation expectations for the next year rose to 7.3% from 6.5% last month as respondents continue to signal concerns tied to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. On Friday, volatility could increase on Wall Street due to the large number of expiring options contracts. Goldman Sachs estimated that over $2.8 trillion in notional exposure to options would expire on Friday, the highest such number ever recorded for a trading day in May. Wall Street also hopes for more clarity on trade issues in the coming weeks. President Donald Trump stated on Friday that his administration would send letters to many countries with detailed descriptions of the new tariff coefficients, possibly within the next two to three weeks. These letters will replace trade negotiations with countries where the US does not have time to meet.