U.S. Stocks Broadly Lower In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks are turning in a weak performance on Friday amid renewed concerns over trade tensions, and a batch of mixed economic data.

The major averages all are down in negative territory, with the tech-laden Nasdaq underperforming. The Dow, which briefly emerged into positive territory after a weak start, retreated again and was down 65.40 points or 0.15 percent at 42,150.33 a little while ago.

The S&P 500 was down 22.05 points or 0.37 percent at 5,890.12, while the Nasdaq was lower by 137.54 points or 0.71 percent at 19,038.34.

Nvidia, which turned in a fine performance in the previous session thanks to strong results, is down by about 3 percent.

Intel and Micron Technology are down 2.7 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. AMD, Texas Instruments, Nike, Fedex, Alphabet and Goldman Sachs are also notably lower.

Among the gainers, Costco Wholesale is up more than 3.5 percent, and Moderna is up 3.4 percent. General Motors, Eli Lilly, Amgen, United Health, United Airlines and Dollar Tree are up 1.5 to 3 percent.

On the trade front, President Donald Trump accused China of violating the trade agreement reached earlier this month.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that "everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual" following the trade deal.

"Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!!" Trump said. "The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!"

Trump's claim comes after Treasury Secretary Bessent said in a Fox News interview on Thursday that U.S.-China trade talks "are a bit stalled."

On the economic front, a closely watched report release by the Commerce Department showed consumer prices in the U.S. crept slightly higher in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index inched up by 0.1 percent in April after coming in unchanged in March. The uptick matched economist estimates.

The report also said the annual rate of growth by the PCE price index slowed to 2.1 percent in April from 2.3 percent in March. Economists had expected growth to slow to 2.2 percent.

The annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index slowed to 2.5 percent in April from 2.7 percent in March, matching economist estimates.

The Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation were included in the Commerce Department's report on personal income and spending.

The Commerce Department said personal income increased by 0.8 percent in April after climbing by 0.7 percent in March, while personal spending rose by 0.2 percent in April after rising by 0.7 percent in March.

A report from the Institute for Supply Management said the Chicago PMI fell to 40.5 in May 2025 from 44.6 in the prior month. The reading was expected to come in with a score of 45.0. The latest reading showed that Chicago's economic activity contracted for the 18th consecutive month.

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment for the US was revised sharply higher to 52.2 in May 2025 from a preliminary of 50.8, matching the value for April.