It was a holiday shortened week with Memorial Day on Monday, but the market kicked off the week with a positive start after President Trump announced a deferral of the 50% tariff rate for the EU until July 9 to allow more time to negotiate a trade deal. The S&P 500 surged 2.1% on Tuesday, but ended the week up 1.9%. The month, meanwhile, was the best month for the S&P 500 (+6.2%) and Nasdaq Composite (+9.6%) since 2023.
NVIDIA’s (NVDA) better-than-expected quarterly report and outlook after Wednesday’s close was one of the other key developments, along with a series of well-received 2-yr, 5-yr, and 7-yr note Treasury auctions, and improved consumer confidence.
The latter part of the week was impacted by some confusing news regarding tariffs. On late Wednesday, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that the president did not have the legal authority to enforce reciprocal tariffs. On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals granted the White House’s request to temporarily reinstate the tariffs. On Friday, President Trump said China had violated the preliminary trade agreement worked out in Switzerland and noted “So much for being MR. NICE GUY!” before adding later that day that he hopes to be able to work things out with President Xi.