U.S. Markets Finish Mixed And Little Changed

(RTTNews) - Stock shook off a sluggish start on Friday, with the major U.S. markets posting a mild recovery to finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow rose 54.34 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 42,270.07, while the NASDAQ slipped 62.11 points or 0.32 percent to close at 19,113.77 and the S&P 500 eased 0.48 points or 0.01 percent to end at 5,911.69.

The early selling pressure on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump accused China of violating the trade agreement reached last month.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that "everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual" following the trade deal.

"Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!!" Trump said. "The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!"

But bargain hunters fueled the mild recovery later in the day.

In U.S. economic news, a closely watched report release by the Commerce Department showed consumer prices in the U.S. crept slightly higher in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index inched up by 0.1 percent in April after coming in unchanged in March. The uptick matched economist estimates.

The report also said the annual rate of growth by the PCE price index slowed to 2.1 percent in April from 2.3 percent in March. Economists had expected growth to slow to 2.2 percent.

Excluding prices for food and energy, the core PCE price index still crept up by 0.1 percent in April following a revised 0.1 percent uptick in March. The modest increase came in line with expectations.

The annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index slowed to 2.5 percent in April from 2.7 percent in March, matching economist estimates.

The Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation were included in the Commerce Department's report on personal income and spending.

The Commerce Department said personal income increased by 0.8 percent in April after climbing by 0.7 percent in March, while personal spending rose by 0.2 percent in April after rising by 0.7 percent in March.

Due to uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's tariff plans, the major European and Asian markets were mixed on Friday. Trade tensions escalated after the U.S. president accused China of violating trade agreement reached earlier this month, but investors picked up stocks amid expectations of an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank.

Crude suffered a weekly loss of more than 1 percent due to uncertainty over Trump's tariffs and their likely impact on global growth and fuel demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery eased $0.18 or 0.30 percent to $60.76 a barrel.

The swift changes in successive U.S. court rulings on tariffs and a softer inflation report caused a slide in gold price on Friday.

Front Month Comex Gold for June delivery shed $28.20 (or 0.85%) to $3288.90 per troy ounce from previous session. Gold lost $16.10 per troy ounce (or 0.49%) this month. At this price, Gold is off 3.59% from its 52-week high of $3411.40 hit on May 6, 2025.

Front Month Comex Silver for June delivery lost 39.10 cents (or 1.17%) to $32.892 per troy ounce. Though Silver gained 36.10 cents (or 1.11%) this month, it is off from its 52-week high of $34.897 hit on March 27, 2025.