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Stocks fall on Friday, but S&P 500 gains 5% in April

 

The major averages slipped on Friday as investors took profits amid a flurry of earnings results and a robust profit beat from e-commerce giant Amazon.

 

 

 

The S&P 500 fell 0.7% to 4,181.17, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 185.51 points to close at 33,874.85. 

 

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9% to 13,962.68.

 

Despite Friday’s weakness in equities, the S&P 500 notched its third straight month of gains in April, adding more than 5% to the index as investors bet on a big economic and profit recovery from the pandemic. 

 

The S&P 500 is now up 11% for the year. The benchmark closed at record levels on Thursday on the heels of blowout earnings results from Apple and Facebook.

 

The Dow rose about 2.7% this month, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 5.4% in April.

 

Amazon, the last of Wall Street’s mega-cap tech companies to publish results, reported a record first-quarter profit. The Seattle-based firm said profits more than tripled to $8.1 billion and January-to-March sales soared 44% to $108 billion.

 

Amazon’s results showed demand remained strong for its massive online retail business even as the economy started to open up some. Still, Amazon shares, up 40% in 12 months, closed in the red on Friday.

 

More strong economic data was released on Friday, continuing a trend that’s lifted stocks all month. March spending jumped a better-than-expected 4.2%, while personal incomes surged by a massive 21.1% amid more fiscal stimulus.

 

Reference: CNBC