The S&P 500 slid on Friday, marking a pause in its rally, but stocks still clinched back-to-back weekly gains. The benchmark index shed 0.3% to close at 6,101.24, despite hitting a fresh intraday record earlier in the session. The Nasdaq slipped 0.5% to 19,954.30, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 140.82 points, or 0.3%, to 44,424.25.
Only 8 stocks in the Dow fell today. Not bad given how worried everyone was 10 hours ago.
— Ryan Detrick, CMT (@RyanDetrick) January 27, 2025
Friday’s losses ended a positive streak for the three major indexes. Some megacap tech stocks, which had driven the market to all-time highs, dropped, putting downward pressure on equities. Apple slid more than 3%, and Microsoft fell more than 1%.
S&P 500 just slightly off its all-time high, but recent uptick in % of members making new 52-week highs has been relatively weak pic.twitter.com/cXkmrqKl1R
— Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) January 27, 2025
Editor's Take | The dollar is below resistance—key highlight for Monday morning! 📉 @nikunjdalmia decodes market trends, #Q3 earnings, stocks to watch, and what lies ahead. Tune in! #Markets #Investing #Stocks pic.twitter.com/lKPHFvBAAF
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) January 27, 2025
Despite the retreat on Friday, excitement about President Trump’s pro-business policies has largely pushed risk assets higher this week as investors focused on his return to the White House. Traders were relieved that there have only been threats on the tariff front from Trump instead of formal action during his first few days back in office. All three major averages posted their second straight positive week, signaling that the bull market is back in full force after December’s pullback.
Stocks To Watch | 📊Ready, set, trade! Keep an eye on these stocks as they set the market abuzz #StockMarket pic.twitter.com/9MCzS7IDtF
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) January 27, 2025
S&P 500 pauses after record session
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each rose around 1.7% this week, while the Dow climbed 2.2%. The S&P 500 also reached a new all-time closing high on Thursday.
Trump announced on Thursday that he would “demand that interest rates drop immediately” during his address to world leaders in Davos, Switzerland. The president also said he would ask Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations to lower the price of oil. “So far, markets have reacted to every statement made by the President, even those that should not have any impact,” said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert.
“This shows that traders have not yet settled into their pace.”
Beyond politics, market participants kept an eye on corporate news and earnings reports. Gilead Sciences rallied more than 8% following the approval of a new weight loss drug. Intel, on the other hand, dropped more than 7% on weak earnings guidance.
In addition to earnings, attention will turn to big technology earnings and the Federal Reserve meeting next week. Fed funds futures are pricing in a chance that the central bank leaves interest rates unchanged, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
