Dow recovers to post modest gains

Stocks took recovery from immerse losses early Friday to close higher. Against data showing U.S. April retail sales plunged more than predicted and news, the Trump administration will block cargo of semiconductors to China’s Huawei Technologies, stoking fears of renewed trade tensions.

However, the sentiment improved by news the House of Representatives set to vote on an additional $3 trillion COVID-19 package that could be the opening bid in another fiscal stimulus.

What did the major indexes do?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.58% gained 61 points, or lower than 0.3%, to 23,685.42, and the S&P 500 SPX, -1.04% obtained 11.20 points, or 0.4%, higher to finish the session at 2,863.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.53% ended at 9,014.56 after obtaining 70.84 points, or 0.8%.

Nonetheless, stocks finished out the week reduced, with the Dow low 2.7%, the S&P 500 falling 2.3%, and the Nasdaq 1.2% went down.

What drove the stock market?

U.S. retail sales fell 16.4% in April, the Commerce Department observed, as businesses remained all but shut down, outstrip the 12.5% drop expected on average by economists polled by MarketWatch. Excluding autos, sales still dropped by 16.2%.

“Consumers reacted fast to the near closedown in the economy in mid-March, piling up on groceries while cutting spending on virtually everything else,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, in online comments. “That pantry-stocking buying binge descended in April, leaving traditional retail shoppers feeling the pain across the board,”

“Until there is a higher-level sense of confidence that the virus is under control, economic activity is less likely to return to normal,” “Still, the gradual soothing of restrictions across the states should forecast a bottoming in the economy and the first steps toward recovery.”