For the week, the S&P 500 (
^GSPC
) rose about 4.5% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (
^DJI
) popped 2.5%. The Nasdaq Composite (
^IXIC
) led the gains, adding roughly 6.6%.
With the major indexes nearly back to their pre-April 2 tariff announcement levels, a busy week of economic and corporate releases awaits.
On the economic front, updates on inflation and economic growth in the first quarter will be in focus before the release of the April jobs report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday.
In corporate news, 180 S&P 500 companies are expected to report quarterly financial results, headlined by Apple (
AAPL
), Amazon (
AMZN
), Coca-Cola (
KO
), Eli Lilly (
LLY
), Meta (
META
), Microsoft (
MSFT
), and Chevron (
CVX
).
A 'pivot in place'
Stocks soared last week as President Trump backed down on two key pain points for markets.
On Tuesday night, Trump told reporters he has
"no intention of firing"
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, reversing a recent market narrative that had contributed to a nearly 1,000-point loss in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday. In the same meeting with the press, Trump also hinted at a deescalation in a trade war with China, telling reporters the 145% tariffs on
the country will "come down substantially."
"We've seen some decent progress [in the stock market] in absence of really any sort of negotiation," Fundstrat global head of technical strategy Mark Newton told Yahoo Finance. "Just knowing there's a pivot in place, that [the] administration is willing to pull back, I think is a positive."
The reprieve led the S&P 500's four straight days of gains for the first time since January. But equity strategists don't believe the recent rally means stocks are out of the tariff whipsaw yet.
"While we don’t think we're out of the woods, we must respect history and how market corrections begin to find their footing as the primary problem begins to 'heal,'" Piper Sandler chief investment strategist Michael Kantrowitz wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday.
Economists expect the first quarter GDP to show the US economy grew at an annualized pace of 0.1% in the first three months of the year, a sharp move lower from the 2.4% growth seen in the fourth quarter of 2024. If economists are correct with their 0.1% growth projection, the first quarter will have been the slowest quarter of economic growth since 2022.
Price check
Wednesday will also bring an updated look at the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge before tariffs are expected to begin impacting the data.
Economists expect annual "core" Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) — which excludes the volatile categories of food and energy — to have clocked in at 2.5% in March, down from the 2.8%
seen in February
. Over the prior month, economists project core PCE of 0.1%, below the 0.4% seen last month.
Labor update
Signs of an economic slowdown have yet to fully emerge in labor market data. Economists expect that trend to continue with the release of the April jobs report on Friday.
The April jobs report is expected to show 133,000 nonfarm payroll jobs were added to the US economy last month while unemployment held steady at 4.2%, according to data from Bloomberg. In March,
the US economy added 228,000 jobs
while the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%.
"The labor market continues to tread water," the Wells Fargo economic research team led by Jay Bryson wrote in a note to clients on Friday. "While trade policy abruptly changed throughout the month, we suspect employers resorted to wait-and-see mode."
Still, a look at the year-to-date chart of the market leaders serves as a reminder of how far stocks have fallen in 2025 and the likely need for another catalyst to restart the momentum.
Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are set to report results in the week ahead as investors search for more clarity on how the shifting tariff environment and growing competition in the AI space have changed each company's outlook.
Economic data:
JOLTS Job Openings, March (7.57 million previously); Wholesale inventories month over month, March preliminary (0.3% prior); FHFA house price index month over month, February (0.2% prior); S&P CoreLogic CS 20-city year over year, February (+4.67% prior); Conference Board consumer confidence, April (87 expected, 92.9 prior); Dallas Fed services activity, April (-11.3 prior)
Economic data:
MBA Mortgage Applications, week ending April 25 (-12.7% previously); ADP employment change, April (128,000 expected, 155,000 expected); GDP annualized quarter over quarter, first quarter advance estimate (+0.1% expected, +2.4% prior); Personal consumption, first quarter advance estimate (+4% prior); Core PCE price index quarter over quarter, first quarter advance estimate (+2.6% prior); Employment cost index, first quarter ( 0.9% expected, 0.9% prior); Personal spending, March (+0.6% expected, +0.4% prior); Personal income, March (+0.4%, +0.8% prior); MNI Chicago PMI, April (45.5 expected, 47.6 prior); PCE price index month over month (0% expected, +0.3% prior); PCE price index year over year, March (2.2% expected, 2.5% prior); Core PCE price index month over month, March (+0.1% expected, +0.4% prior); Core PCE price index year over year, March (+2.5% expected, +2.8% prior); Pending home sales month over month, March (+2% prior)
Economic data:
Challenger jobs cuts, year over year, April (+204.8% previously); Initial jobless claims week ending April 26 (222,000 prior); S&P global US manufacturing, April final (50.7 prior); ISM manufacturing, April (48 expected, 49 prior); ISM prices paid, April (69.4 prior); Construction spending, month over month, March (+0.3% expected, +0.7% prior)
Economic data:
Nonfarm payrolls, April (+138,000 expected, +228,000 previously); Unemployment rate, April (4.2% expected, 4.2% previously); Average hourly earnings, month over month, April (+0.3% expected, +0.3% previously); Average hourly earnings, year over year, April (+3.9% expected, +3.8% previously); Average weekly hours worked, April (34.2 expected, 34.2 previously); Labor force participation rate, April (62.5% previously)
Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X
@_joshschafer
.
