S&P 500 Nabs Minor Gain As Trump Touts Trade Talks, Slams Powell

US equities closed mixed Thursday to end a holiday-shortened week, as President Donald Trump and his aides touted progress in trade talks and investors parsed corporate earnings to assess the impact of tariffs on firms.

The S&P 500 Index edged up 0.13% in New York while the Nasdaq 100 Index was roughly flat for the day. Health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc., the top-weighted stock on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, slid 22.4% after reporting a first-quarter profit that fell short of analysts' expectations. That sent the blue-chip Dow toward a day of historical underperformance against other US equity indexes, falling 1.3%.

All told, the S&P 500 still logged its seventh down week in nine as Wall Street remains on edge about the impact of tariffs on the global economy. The Cboe VIX Index hovered above a key level of 30, signaling traders' expectation for price swings to continue.

Volatility returned Thursday, with stocks fluctuating between gains and losses as headlines whiplashed traders yet again. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X that discussions between the US and Japan are “progressing in a highly satisfactory direction,” echoing Trump's update of “big progress” on discussions earlier.

In a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Trump said that he expects to reach a trade deal with the European Union, but indicated he is in no hurry to finalize an agreement to reduce tariffs.

The president also took to his Truth Social platform to criticize Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying a termination from his position can't come soon enough, and arguing that the central bank should have already lowered interest rates this year. A Wall Street Journal report said Bessent had pushed back against the idea.

“As we look at a combination of historical, fundamental, and technical analysis, the weight of the evidence suggests being slightly more defensive is warranted,” Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services, wrote in a note to clients as he downgraded his view on US stocks to less attractive.

In individual movers, Eli Lilly & Co. shares surged 14% after data showed its experimental weight-loss pill worked as well as the Ozempic shot, bringing it closer to developing a needle-free alternative. Hertz Global Holdings Inc. rallied 43%, extending gains from a 56% jump in the previous session as Bill Ackman confirmed his Pershing Square Capital Management holds about a 19.8% stake in the rental-car company.

In other single-stock news, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. closed higher after it said it still expects mid-20% growth this year, on par with a goal set in January, and stuck with capital spending projections despite unveiling in March an additional $100 billion of US investment — a move praised by Trump.

The outlook offered a reprieve for semiconductors one day after the group was pummeled by a disappointing forecast from ASML Holding NV and the White House's new curbs on chip exports to China.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. traded down 1.4% as Google was found by a federal judge to have illegally monopolized some online advertising technology markets in a blow to a key part of the company's business.

Applications for US unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in two months, reflecting a stable labor market. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Fed Index fell, flashing a warning sign from the manufacturing sector.

Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank lowered interest rates for the seventh time since last June as trade tensions threaten to derail the region's economic recovery.

US equities closed mixed Thursday to end a holiday-shortened week, as President Donald Trump and his aides touted progress in trade talks and investors assessed the president's .

The S&P 500 Index edged up 0.13% in New York while the Nasdaq 100 Index was roughly flat for the day. Health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc., the top-weighted stock on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, slid 22.4% after reporting a first-quarter profit that fell short of analysts' expectations. That sent the blue-chip Dow toward a day of historical underperformance against other US equity indexes, falling 1.3%.

Read More: Dow Faces Historic Divergence From S&P After UnitedHealth Plunge

All told, the S&P 500 still logged its seventh down week in nine as Wall Street remains on edge about the impact of tariffs on the global economy. The Cboe VIX Index hovered above a key level of 30, signaling traders' expectation for price swings to continue.

Volatility returned Thursday, with stocks fluctuating between gains and losses as headlines whiplashed traders yet again. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X that discussions between the US and Japan are “progressing in a highly satisfactory direction,” echoing Trump's update of “big progress” on discussions earlier.

In a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Trump said that he expects to reach a trade deal with the European Union, but indicated he is in no hurry to finalize an agreement to reduce tariffs.

The president also took to his Truth Social platform to criticize Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying a termination from his position can't come soon enough, and arguing that the central bank should have already lowered interest rates this year. A Wall Street Journal report said Bessent had pushed back against the idea.

“As we look at a combination of historical, fundamental, and technical analysis, the weight of the evidence suggests being slightly more defensive is warranted,” Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services, wrote in a note to clients as he downgraded his view on US stocks to less attractive.

In individual movers, Eli Lilly & Co. shares surged 14% after data showed its experimental weight-loss pill worked as well as the Ozempic shot, bringing it closer to developing a needle-free alternative. Hertz Global Holdings Inc. rallied 43%, extending gains from a 56% jump in the previous session as Bill Ackman confirmed his Pershing Square Capital Management holds about a 19.8% stake in the rental-car company.

In other single-stock news, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. closed higher after it said it still expects mid-20% growth this year, on par with a goal set in January, and stuck with capital spending projections despite unveiling in March an additional $100 billion of US investment — a move praised by Trump.

The outlook offered a reprieve for semiconductors one day after the group was pummeled by a disappointing forecast from ASML Holding NV and the White House's new curbs on chip exports to China.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. traded down 1.4% as Google was found by a federal judge to have illegally monopolized some online advertising technology markets in a blow to a key part of the company's business.

Applications for US unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in two months, reflecting a stable labor market. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Fed Index fell, flashing a warning sign from the manufacturing sector.

Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank lowered interest rates for the seventh time since last June as trade tensions threaten to derail the region's economic recovery.