Stocks Pivot Higher on Trade Hopes, Nab Weekly Gains

Stocks bounced back to close out the week, with the Dow and Nasdaq enjoying triple-digit pops, while the S&P 500 notched a solid gain of its own. The indexes rallied after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would meet Chinese officials to discuss trade this evening, while President Trump said he will still likely meet President Xi Jinping later this month. The comments helped ease U.S.-China trade concerns, sending all three benchmarks to weekly gains.

Investors spent most of the day monitoring the bank sector, too, with stocks rebounding on hopes that recent credit concerns are not indicative of a bigger crisis. As a result, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) pivoted lower for the day, and also marked a weekly loss.

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Gold Prices Take a Breather After More Records

Oil prices finished flat on Friday, but saw a more than 2% weekly loss amid oversupply concerns. President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin also agreed to meet again to discuss the war in Ukraine. December-dated West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.1%, or 8 cents, to settle at $57.54 per barrel. 

Gold prices settled lower on Friday, but not before hitting a record high above $4,300. Triggering the pullback was a stronger U.S. dollar and remarks from President Trump over the unsustainability of "full-scale" tariffs on China. December-dated gold futures closed 2.1% lower to settle at $4,213.30 per ounce, but still gained about 4.8% this week.