The S&P 500 notched a weekly gain on Friday, led by tech, as bets on a September rate cut were boosted after Trump nominated his top economic adviser, Stephen Miran, to fill a vacant seat on the Fed board at a time when focus on Fed chairman Jerome Powell’s potential successor is heating up.
At 4:00 p.m. ET (20:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 207 points, or 0.5%, the S&P 500 index gained 0.8%, and the NASDAQ Compositeclimbed 1 to clinch a record close of 21,450.02.
Fed rate cut bets jump; Trump expands list of candidates to replace Powell
The Trump administration’s tariffs took effect from Thursday, imposing import duties as high as 50% on regional economies.
Several countries have thrashed out trade deals with the U.S., including the European Union, reducing their tariff levels, but investors remained on edge over the economic impact of the duties.
The new tariffs from 10% to 41% went into effect earlier this week on more than 90 countries, taking the average tariff rate above 15%, up from 2.3% at the start of the year and the highest since 1938.
A rise in weekly jobless claims on Thursday added to signs of a further cooling in the labor market, especially after last week’s disappointing jobs report.
These readings have furthered bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September.
