S&P Hits New All-Time Peak on Trade Hope

The S&P 500 rose to a new record on Friday, capping off what has been an improbable turnaround for U.S. stocks this year as they overcame trade turmoil and geopolitics to reclaim the record set in February. Friday’s gain was driven by hope that trade deals with China and other countries are coming soon.The Dow Jones Industrials popped 536.50 points, or 1.2%, to 43,923.34.The much-broader index advanced 41.59 points to pause for lunch at 6,182.61, that surpassed the prior all-time high of 6,147.43 from Feb. 19.The NASDAQ Composite tacked on 109.29 points to 20,275.63, also a new record high.The S&P 500 is up more than 20% since reaching a nadir on April 8 and now up nearly 5% for the year. Along the way, investors kept buying despite a spike in oil prices spurred by the Israel-Iran conflict and a yield surge on deficit worries. A recovery in the artificial intelligence trade led by Nvidia and Microsoft helped fuel the comeback.Late Thursday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg News that a framework between China and the U.S. on trade had been finalized. Lutnick added that the Trump administration expects to reach deals with 10 major trading partners imminently.President Donald Trump also said Thursday “we just signed with China yesterday.” A White House official later clarified he meant China agreed to “an additional understanding of a framework to implement the Geneva agreement.” China’s Ministry of Commerce also said Friday that the two countries had confirmed a trade framework that would allow the export of rare earths to the U.S. and ease tech restrictions.Nvidia hit an all-time high again on Friday, up 0.9%. Microsoft notched a new record as well before hovering around the little-changed mark.Prices for the 10-year treasury dropped slightly, raising yields to 4.25% from Thursday’s 4.24%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices inched lower three cents to $65.21 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices sank $61.80 to $3,285.50 U.S. an ounce.