The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average turned positive for the year, sitting on a 1.3% and 0.3% gain, respectively in 2025. The S&P 500 was down 17.8% for the year and down 21.4% from the all-time high it reached on February 19 at its April 7 low (4,835.04). With Friday’s close, the S&P 500 index is 23.2% higher than its April low and 3.2% below its all-time high.
Increased attention to mega caps and large-cap tech stocks had an outsized impact on the major equity indices. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) jumped 7.2% this week. NVIDIA (NVDA) surged 16% and Apple (AAPL) was up 6.4% from last Friday.
Last week’s gains were driven a ceasefire in the trade war with China. Both the U.S. and China agreed to a 90-day reduction in tariffs, which went into effect last Wednesday. The U.S. dropped tariffs on China from 145% to 30% and China dropping tariffs on the U.S. from 125% to 10%. This was good news for the market although the reductions expire in 90 days if both sides can’t reach a more permanent trade deal.
Investor sentiment was also helped by last week’s economic date which included April’s Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index which lacked any tariff inflation shock.