The S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP: .INX) just booked its best week since January. The index, which comprises the 500 largest listed companies in America, soared 4.6% for the week to 5,525 points. Every sector lifted except consumer staples.
Earlier this month, concerns over the economic fallout from tariffs drove US consumer sentiment to its lowest reading on record. Long-term inflation expectations also rose to the highest since 1991.
Last week markets received a dose of optimism after US President Donald Trump scaled back aggressive rhetoric against China. Trump signalled he may be willing to cut his 145% tariff on Chinese imports substantially.
Investors also appreciated Trump's revelation that he had "no intention" of removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. He had previously criticised his decision not to lower rates and hinted that he might seek to get rid of him.
The S&P 500 index also got a boost from large technology stocks Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), which both rose strongly after their earnings results. Alphabet reported 12% year-over-year revenue growth to US$90 billion, driven by strong growth in Google search and advertising. Meanwhile, Tesla reported a 71% net profit decline. However, CEO Elon Musk's commitment to spend less time in his government role and more time at Tesla appeared to please investors.
The once high-flying Magnificent Seven companies have underperformed the index so far this year. This marks a dramatic reversal from their dominant run last year.
This week, four more magnificent seven companies are scheduled to report. Given their market capitalisations, their results are likely to impact the weekly performance of the S&P 500 Index.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) are due to report on Wednesday. This year, Microsoft and Meta have held up the best of the magnificent companies, declining just 6% and 9%, respectively.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) will report on Thursday. Apple has been in the spotlight this year, with expected tariff impacts reportedly causing the iPhone maker to seek to import most of the iPhones it sells to the US to India by 2026.
Amazon is also affected by tariffs. As reported by CBS News, sellers on Amazon have raised prices on nearly 1,000 products, with the average price hike almost 30%. Anker, a top-selling brand on Amazon that sells mobile charging devices, has increased its prices by roughly 25% since Trump announced his Tariffs.
Investors will no doubt be eager to hear how Apple and Amazon plan to navigate tariffs during their respective earnings calls. Both companies are down 14% for the year to date.
To wrap up the week, the April US jobs report will be released on 2 May. Economists expect job additions to drop to 150,000 from 228,000 in March and the unemployment rate to remain at 4.2%. Given the volatile start to the year, investors will undoubtedly be keeping a close eye on this macroeconomic indicator to gauge the strength of the overall US economy.
These announcements will impact those invested in US-focused ASX ETFs. That includes the Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index AUD ETF (ASX: VTS), the iShares S&P 500 AUD ETF (ASX: IVV), and the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ), which all have significant exposure to the magnificent seven and the broader US economy.
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