Dow Jones - 42,654.74 (+0.78%)

Nasdaq - 19,211.10 (+0.52%) 

S&P 500 - 5,958.38 (+0.70%)  

• Stocks closed out a strong week. Every major index ended higher on Friday with the help of healthcare and utility stocks pushing the market higher. U.S. stocks have experienced a tremendous recovery. The S&P 500 is now up 1.3% YTD and extended gains for a fifth day in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is 5% shy of its all-time high while the NASDAQ is off by 4.9%. 
• Bond yields fell. The 10-year Treasury yield hit 4.44%.
• International market moves. Asia finished mixed overnight, as Japan's first-quarter GDP missed estimates, contracting from the prior period at a 0.7% annualized pace, the first negative reading in a year. European markets rose and Germany's DAX index reached a new record high.
• The U.S. dollar advanced. The current value of the U.S. Dollar Index is 100.976 USD — it has risen by 0.17% in the past 24 hours. 
• WTI oil went higher. As trade tensions eased, WTI crude oil closed at $62.49 per barrel. Brent crude closed at $65.28 per barrel. 
• Bitcoin hovered around $104,000. The leading digital currency held firmly above the $100K mark.
• Gold tumbled. The yellow metal dropped over 2% on Friday and was now down over 4% for the week. It has dropped three weeks in a row.
• Economic data. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index dropped to 50.8, down from 52.2 in April. "These survey results suggest that consumer spending may be increasingly restrained by caution under the Trump economic agenda," Carl B. Weinberg, chief economist at investor advisory firm High Frequency Economics, said in a research note. A Consumer Price Index report also showed that price increases continued to moderate in April. Prices rose 2.3% over the same month a year earlier, down slightly from March’s 2.4% annual inflation rate and marking the smallest increase since February 2021. 
• Trade progress. U.S. and Chinese negotiators agreed to sharply reduce rates for many recently introduced tariffs for 90 days while pursuing further talks that could result in a longer-term agreement.  
• Housing starts fell short. Privately owned housing starts in April rose to a seasonally and scant adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million. This was below the estimates of about 1.38 million. 
• U.S. retail sales saw modest growth. Retail sales posted a small monthly increase after surging the previous month in a bigger-than-expected gain that many analysts attributed to a spike in purchasing ahead of higher tariffs. Thursday’s report of a 0.1% sales rise in April followed a 1.7% surge in March.
• The U.S. got a downgrade. Moody’s downgraded its credit rating of the United States by a notch to “Aa1” from “Aaa,” citing rising debt and interest “that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns.”
• Tesla rallied. Tesla shares closed out their fourth straight week of gains, rebounding from a recent low on April 21.
• Novo Nordisk lost its CEO. The healthcare company announced that CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen would leave his post due to declining share price and increased rivalry with Eli Lilly (LLY) in the obesity drug market. Shares are down 22% year to date.
• Meta delayed its flagship AI model. Meta Platforms announced a delay of its flagship AI model "Behemoth."
• UnitedHealth Group rebounded. The stock saw a modest 3+% rebound on Friday after announcing a CEO departure last week and a probe by the Department of Justice.
• JPMorgan CEO laid out a dire warning. CEO Jamie Dimon said, “I’m going to defer to our economists who give [a recession] about a 50% chance… If there’s a recession, I don’t know how big it will be or how long it will last. Hopefully we’ll avoid it, but I wouldn’t take it off the table at this point.”
• Walmart said price increases are coming. The big box retailer said some price increases would take effect because of tariffs. President Trump took to social media and told company to "EAT THE TARIFFS."

• Tesla (TSLA)
• Nvidia (NVDA)
• Meta (META)
• Walmart (WAL)
• Apple (AAPL)

Biggest Gainers

• Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) - 26.48%
• Tonix Pharmaceuticals (TNXP) - 19.64%
• Pony AI, Inc. (PONY) - 13.94%
• Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (HIMS) - 10.36%
• Coinbase Global (COIN) - 9.01%

Biggest Losers

• Globan S.A. (GLOB) – 23.61%
• Newegg Commerce, Inc. (NEGG) – 16.44%
• Doximity, Inc. (DOCS) – 10.08%
• Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC) – 5.87%
• Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) – 5.25%

Weekly Notables

Walmart Boycott Kicks Off Next Week

Another nationwide boycott of big box retailer Walmart is set to commence next week. American consumers are being urged to avoid the company's physical stores and online services. The People's Union USA, the advocacy group leading the action, has accused the retail giant of "crushing" small businesses and underpaying its employees. The boycott will take place from May 20 to May 26. 

Tesla is Getting a New Board Member

Electric vehicle maker Tesla is adding Chipotle president Jack Hartung to the company’s board of directors. Hartung will be the ninth member of Tesla's board and will join the company on June 1. Hartung will retire from his role at Chipotle on the same day and transition to a senior adviser role at the Mexican fast-casual chain. 

The Week Ahead

• Potential market moving catalysts this week: - May 19: April leading indicators from the Conference Board. May 20: No reports May 21: EIA Crude Oil Inventories, MBA Mortgage Applications Index May 22: April existing home sales and expected earnings. May 23: April new home sales.
• Earnings on deck this week: Monday (5/19): Target Hospitality Corp. (TH), Trip.com Group (TCOM). Tuesday (5/20): Home Depot (HD), Viking Holdings Ltd. (VIK), Eagle Materials Inc. (EXP), GDS Holdings Ltd. (GDS), Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW), Keysight Technologies Inc. (KEYS), Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL). Wednesday (5/21): TJX Companies Inc. (TJX), Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW), Medtronic PLC (MDT), Target Corp. (TGT), Baidu Inc. (BIDU), Snowflake Inc. (SNOW), Zoom Communications Inc. (ZM), Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN). Thursday (5/22): Analog Devices Inc. (ADI), Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL), BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (BJ), Intuit Inc. (INTU), Workday Inc. (WDAY), Autodesk Inc. (ADSK), Ross Stores Inc. (ROST), Deckers Outdoor Corp. (DECK). Friday (5/23): Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. (BAH), Buckle Inc. (BKE).