🧨 Trade Truce, Who Dis?

S&P logs 5-day win streak, Nasdaq gains 7%... because apparently tariffs, inflation, and consumer doom don’t matter anymore.

🚨 MARKET RECAP – Friday, May 16, 2025 🚨
Wall Street ended the week in full-on ✨delusional optimism✨ mode — rallying like the world wasn’t falling apart in the background.

Let’s run the tape 👇

📈 The Indexes: Who Needs Bad News Anyway?

• S&P 500: 🔺+0.70% on the day | 5th straight green candle 🕯️

• Dow Jones: 🔺+0.78% today | Up 2.5% this week

• Nasdaq: 🔺+0.52% today | Up a juicy 7% this week

Tech stocks don’t care about your inflation fears. They’re vibing.

Yes, the same week Walmart warned you prices are going up, the consumer said “we feel terrible,” and Trump’s tax bill collapsed — markets said, “let’s party anyway.”

🐼 Tariff Rollback = Rally Fuel

Markets popped early this week on news of a US-China trade truce 2.0, with President Trump peeling back some tariffs like it’s gift wrap.

By Friday, he added that “letters are going out soon” to tell countries their new tariff rates. Because diplomacy is best handled by snail mail apparently.

Either way, Wall Street took this as a sign of “less bad” and sent stocks higher.

🏛️ Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” Goes Down in Flames

Despite a morning pep talk from Trump, Republicans basically threw his tax and spending mega-bill in the shredder during a House committee vote.

• Outcome: 16-21 → “The nos have it.”

• Translation: Tax cuts and stimulus hopes just got delayed… again.

• Markets? Barely flinched. Why stress about dysfunction in government when Nvidia is up 15%, right?

😵 Consumer Sentiment: Hits 2nd Lowest EVER

While traders were clicking buy orders, consumers were panicking:

• UMich Sentiment: 50.8 — worse than the Great Recession, and yes, you read that right

• 1-year inflation expectations: 🔺 7.8% — highest since 1981

• Long-term expectations: 🔺4.6% (because why stop at short-term pain?)

So yeah, Americans hate the economic outlook. But sure, let’s send the Nasdaq to the moon. 🚀

🚀 Tech & AI Say “We’re Still Hot”

• $NVDA: Up 15% this week after cozying up to Saudi Arabia’s AI firm “Humain” — and promising to ship truckloads of AI chips

• $TSLA: 4th week in the green ✅

  • Also added Chipotle’s CEO to the board — because burrito energy is bullish apparently

  • Still down 13% YTD but hey, who’s counting

💰 Bitcoin & Gold: Calm in the Chaos

• BTC: Hovering at $104K — up 10% YTD. Barely flinched this week.

Apparently Bitcoin is the adult in the room now?

• Gold: Down over 4% this week. Why?

  • Peace talks between Russia & Ukraine

  • Trade deal optimism

  • And Wall Street’s fading fear of, well, anything

📉 Meanwhile, in Bizarro World…

• Charter + Cox merger ($34.5B): Two cable dinosaurs are joining forces to stay relevant in the streaming age.

• Airlines: Quietly stable amid economic noise. Somehow not crashing.

• Novo Nordisk: CEO steps down because $LLY’s obesity drug is eating their lunch.

• Applied Materials: Bad earnings due to China export curbs. Oops.

• CAVA: Strong quarter. Stock dropped anyway. Because... vibes.

🧠 T&G FINAL TAKE:

This week was Wall Street’s version of “everything’s fine” meme.

• Tariff rollbacks = stocks rip

• Crashing sentiment = ignored

• Trump’s bill dying = irrelevant

• $TSLA burrito board members = bullish

If you're feeling confused, you’re not alone.
Markets are now fully in “irrational optimism until proven otherwise” mode.

🔥 WHAT’S NEXT:

• May 28: Nvidia earnings — AI traders already drooling

• Next inflation print: 🧨 wildcard

• Trump’s next tariff letter drop: Will it be 💌 or 💣?

📢 Drop a comment:

Do you trust this rally?
Or are we just dancing on a house of rate-cut hopium and AI dreams?

👇 Tag @TradesAndGains — tell us what you’re buying (or shorting) into this madness.