Wall Street ended the week with mixed results, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.7% on Friday, failing to breach the 40,000 threshold level during regular trading hours. Despite this, all three major indexes finished the week on a positive note, with the S&P 500 rising 2.3%, the Dow up about 2%, and the Nasdaq gaining 2.9%. This marked the best week for markets since December, boosted by fresh projections from the Federal Reserve and a surge in artificial intelligence stocks.
In corporate news, it was a tough day for performance wear companies, with Lululemon and Nike seeing significant drops in their stock prices after weak forward guidance and slowing sales in China. Reddit also experienced a downward adjustment on its second day of trading, while Apple investors seemed unfazed by an antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant. Additionally, investors approved a deal to make Truth Social owner Trump Media a publicly traded company, a move that could generate a multibillion-dollar windfall for former President Donald Trump amid financial and legal challenges.
While Wall Street may not have crossed the 40,000 mark yet, the overall optimism in the market can be attributed to positive economic projections and strong performances in various sectors. Despite challenges faced by individual companies, the broader market outlook remains positive, with investors looking ahead to potential opportunities and milestones in the coming weeks. The approval of the Truth Social merger and continued resilience in the face of legal and regulatory hurdles underscore the dynamic nature of the market and the ability of investors to navigate through both challenges and opportunities.
