- All three major averages are set to close out the week, and month, in the green.
- President Donald Trump’s tariffs are back on again — for now.
- Costco topped Wall Street’s earnings and revenue estimates for the third quarter.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Mixed feelings
Stocks closed higher Thursday, led by a more than 3% rise in Nvidia shares as the chipmaker rallied after earnings. But continued tariff uncertainty held markets back from further gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 117.03 points, or 0.28%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both rose about 0.4% during the session. All three major averages are set to close out the week — and month — in the green. Investors will get one more batch of economic data before May is over, with April’s personal consumption expenditures index and the latest read on consumer sentiment both due Friday morning. Follow live market updates.
2. Off-again, on-again
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from the press during a swearing-in ceremony for the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 28, 2025.
President Donald Trump’s tariffs are back on again — for now. A federal appeals court on Thursday temporarily paused a lower-court ruling that blocked the president’s so-called “reciprocal tariffs” the day before. The Trump administration had said it planned to take the matter to the Supreme Court as soon as Friday unless it was granted respite from the U.S. Court of International Trade’s Wednesday order. And while the fate of Trump’s tariffs — a keystone of his economic agenda — continues to play out in court, White House officials insist that the duties will remain, one way or another. “Even if we lose, we will do it another way,” Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro told reporters Thursday.
Money Report
3. Retail roundup
Costco topped Wall Street’s earnings and revenue estimates for the third quarter on Thursday, reporting an 8% jump in sales from the same time last year. The membership club was just one of several retailers to report quarterly results after the bell Thursday. Gap beat expectations on the top and bottom lines for its first quarter, but shares of the clothing company tumbled more than 15% after it said new tariffs could cost its business $100 million to $150 million. Shares of American Eagle were also lower in extended trading: The retailer missed first-quarter earnings estimates and issued downbeat guidance for the second quarter.
4. Behind closed doors
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and U.S. President Donald Trump.
At Trump’s invitation, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell met with the president at the White House on Thursday “to discuss economic developments including for growth, employment, and inflation,” the central bank said in a press release. The unexpected meeting comes amid the president’s continued attacks on Powell as he urges the Fed to cut rates. But the central bank said in its statement that Powell did not discuss the future path of monetary policy at the meeting, “except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook.” Asked about the meeting at her briefing Thursday afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump said “he believes the Fed chair is making a mistake” by not cutting rates. “The president’s been very vocal about that, both publicly and now I can reveal privately as well,” she said.
5. AI rivalry
Elon Musk listens as reporters ask U.S. President Donald Trump and South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa questions during a press availability in the Oval Office at the White House on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Elon Musk’s longstanding personal rivalry with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman complicated a major AI infrastructure deal in the Middle East earlier this month, CNBC confirmed Thursday. The project’s announcement was delayed by several days as stakeholders — including the White House — dealt with blowback from Musk after he learned that OpenAI was tapped for the deal, and that his startup xAI would be excluded. Musk, the world’s richest person and the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has said in recent days that he plans to focus more on his businesses as his official stint as a special government employee comes to an end. Trump said in a Truth Social post that Friday will be Musk’s last day, “but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way.”
— CNBC’s Alex Harring, Pia Singh, Brian Evans, Kevin Breuninger, Melissa Repko, Gabrielle Fonrouge, Ali McCadden, Jeff Cox, Kate Rooney, Ashley Capoot, Lora Kolodny and Ari Levy contributed to this report.
