Nike falls due to bleak revenue outlook
FedEx shares drop after earnings report and outlook release
Boeing shares surge due to fighter jet contract acquisition
Dow Jones Industrial Average rises 0.08%, S&amp;P 500 rises 0.08%, Nasdaq rises 0.52%
Reuters New York, March 21 - U.S. stock markets saw slight gains in the S&amp;P and Dow Jones indices on Friday, erasing earlier losses. This came after U.S. President Trump’s remarks gave the market hope that the tariffs set to begin in early April may not be as severe as previously imagined.
Trump stated that he would take a flexible approach to tariffs, and his chief trade representative plans to meet with Chinese counterparts next week. The president also reiterated plans to use tariffs to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China.
In recent weeks, the market has been under pressure due to ongoing changes in the timing and scale of tariff impositions, making corporate profit outlooks and the direction of Federal Reserve monetary policy uncertain.
However, this week the stock market showed some signs of a rebound, with the S&amp;P index rising more than 1% on Wednesday following the Fed's latest policy announcement. The Fed kept interest rates unchanged and indicated that it may cut rates twice this year.
Even so, Michael Arone, Chief Investment Strategist for SSgA's U.S. SPDR business, stated that investors' efforts to boost the stock market have largely failed, which is concerning.
&#34;The reason is the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's trade policies, worries about U.S. economic growth, and uncertainty regarding the direction of monetary policy,&#34; Arone said.
Charles Evans, President of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, stated that the Fed needs more time to &#34;clarify&#34; the impact of Trump's policies on the economy, while John Williams, President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, echoed Evans' views, stating that there is currently no rush to change monetary policy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 32.03 points, or 0.08%, to 41,985.35; the S&amp;P 500 index &lt; .SPX &gt; rose 4.67 points, or 0.08%, to 5,667.56; the Nasdaq index (.IXIC) rose 92.43 points, or 0.52%, to 17,784.05.
Earlier in the day, the S&amp;P index had fallen as much as 1.06%.
This week, the S&amp;P 500 index rose 0.5%, the Nasdaq index rose 0.17%, and the Dow Jones index rose 1.2%. This marks the largest weekly gain for the Dow Jones index in two months, while the Nasdaq and S&amp;P 500 indices barely halted a four-week decline.
As the earnings season is set to begin next month, many companies have lowered their expectations. FedEx (FDX.N) shares fell 6.45% after the package delivery company cut its full-year profit and revenue forecasts, citing ongoing weakness and uncertainty in the U.S. industrial economy.
Rival United Parcel Service (UPS) (UPS.N) fell 1.61%. Given the broad influence of courier companies across various industries, they are often seen as a barometer of the global economy
The delivery companies dragged down the Dow Jones Transportation Index (.DJT), which at one point fell 2.7% during the session but closed down only 0.2%.
Nike Inc. (NKE.N) saw its stock price drop 5.46%, making it the worst-performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as the sportswear manufacturer previously forecast a revenue decline in the fourth quarter that would exceed analysts' expectations.
The materials sector (.SPLRCM) fell 1%, as Nucor Corp (NUE.N) plummeted 5.78% after the company projected first-quarter profits below expectations.
Boeing Co. (BA.N) rose 3.06% after Trump awarded the aircraft manufacturer a contract to produce the U.S. Air Force's most advanced fighter jets, beating out competitor Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), whose stock price fell 5.79%.
On Friday, quarterly derivative contracts linked to stocks, index options, and futures all expired simultaneously, a day also known as &#34;Triple Witching,&#34; which may have exacerbated market volatility.
The ratio of advancing to declining stocks on the New York Stock Exchange was 1.93:1, while on Nasdaq it was 1.42:1.
The S&amp;P 500 Index recorded nine new 52-week highs and 16 new lows, while the Nasdaq Index saw 38 new highs and 188 new lows.
The trading volume on U.S. exchanges was 21.05 billion shares, compared to the average daily trading volume of 16.47 billion shares over the past 20 trading days, marking the busiest trading day since January 7

The U.S. stock market rose slightly on Friday, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 both up 0.08%, and the Nasdaq up 0.52%. The market was influenced by Trump's speech on tariff policy, with investors holding an optimistic view on the future impact of tariffs. Despite declines in the stock prices of Nike and FedEx, Boeing's stock surged due to contract wins; however, the overall market still faces uncertainty, particularly concerning trade policy and economic growth concerns. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and is expected to cut rates twice this year

Reuters

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Dow Jones Industrial Average

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Transportation Index

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Proshares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF

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Invesco QQQ Trust

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U.S. Stock Market: Dow Jones and S&P close flat, Nasdaq ends four-week decline on tariff hopes