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U.S. markets opened slightly higher Friday morning as investors absorbed a wave of major bank earnings.
After a turbulent Thursday that saw major U.S. indexes sink sharply, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114 points Friday, or 0.3%, while the S&P 500 also added about 3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.5%.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) led the early action, jumping 2% after reporting stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue. BlackRock (BLK) also gained 0.9% following its own earnings beat, while Morgan Stanley (MS) shares stayed flat despite strong performance across its major business lines. Wells Fargo (WFC) slipped 3.8%, underperforming its peers.
Big Tech names also posted slight gains at the open. Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) rose 1.3%, Microsoft (MSFT) gained 0.4%, and Apple (AAPL) rose just under 0.3%.
The cautiously optimistic tone suggests that while concerns over tariffs and political volatility remain top of mind, corporate results — especially from key financial players — are offering some reassurance to investors as earnings season kicks off.
However, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon cautioned that the economy is facing “considerable turbulence,” highlighting risks from “sticky inflation,” high fiscal deficits, elevated asset prices, and escalating “tariffs and ‘trade wars.’” He pointed to analysts’ revised earning estimates for S&P 500 as a possible sign of pain to come.
Appearing on CNBC (CMCSA) Friday, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink echoed Dimon’s sentiments, saying that he expects a “slowdown” across the board, and that the U.S. may be in a recession soon – if it isn’t already.
Overnight, China announced a steep escalation in its trade retaliation, raising tariffs on U.S. imports from 84% to 125%. Chinese officials said the new rates effectively render U.S. goods uncompetitive — and that any further tariff increases from Washington would be treated as economically irrelevant.
Meanwhile, gold surged to a record high above $3,200 an ounce as the…
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