U.S.-China tensions and dire economic data still weigh, though
As U.S. economies begin to reopen across the country, a sense of optimism swept through Wall Street during the holiday-shortened week, overshadowing more dire headlines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are all on track to close out May with their second-straight weekly wins. The former two toppled
key trendlines amidst the rally, but another week of lackluster
jobless claims and a mid-week
tech selloff has kept gains in check. Also curbing investor enthusiasm were fresh
U.S.-China tensions over Hong Kong, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump issued harsh rhetoric on Friday, sending markets skidding into the weekend.
Merck, Apple Making Noise on the Dow
Several Dow stocks had noteworthy weeks. It started with Merck (MRK), after the blue-chip drug name ramped up its plans to develop a potential COVID-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, Boeing (BA) announced voluntary lay-offs, as
the aerospace giant tries to regain its footing on the charts. Apple (AAPL) won big over Netflix (NFLX) after securing the rights to the latest Martin Scorsese film,
while call traders continued to blast banking
giant J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM). And to close out the week, Cisco (CSCO) made a big billion-dollar acquisition.
COVID-19 Headlines Everywhere You Look
The coronavirus outbreak may be flattening in some parts of the U.S., but it is still impacting the majority of stocks. We broke down what the pandemic has done for video game stock Electronic Arts (EA), in what is a crucial summer coming up. Retailer Ralph Lauren (RL) felt the post-earnings pinch from COVID-19, and options traders could be calling a top. On the other end of the spectrum was discount retailer Dollar General (DG), nabbing new highs after
its own quarterly report. And as demand for its electric vehicles plummets, Tesla (TSLA) is forced to drop prices.
The stock market rally has made some mining stocks lose their luster, but one gold stock is flashing a bullish signal nonetheless.
New Month Featuring More Earnings, New Trendlines to Take Out
Next week brings a new month, and there's a slew of economic data and even some earnings reports to unpack. As we astutely observed heading into last week, the S&P 500 finally took out key technical resistance this week, but another bearish signal could
be sounding going forward.