By Alex Eule | Friday, April 25

Tech Beats Tariffs. Stocks rallied to close a strong week on a strong note. Thanks to a last-minute push, all three major indexes finished Friday in positive territory, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average squeezing out a 20-point, or 0.05%, gain. The S&P 500 was up 0.7% on the day, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3%. 

For the week, the S&P 500 was up 4.6% and the Nasdaq surged 6.7%. 

Today's gain today came despite more uncertainty around tariffs after President Donald Trump said aboard Air Force One that he was unlikely to extend a 90-day delay on reciprocal tariffs. Stocks dipped on the remarks early this afternoon before regaining ground. 

The Wall Street Journal reported late today that the Trump administration is working on a new template to streamline tariff negotiations with countries around the globe.  

For now, good news on the earnings front might be offsetting tariff fears. In particular, a strong report last night from Google-parent Alphabet offered hope for tech stocks, as investors brace for a wave of Big Tech results next week, from Amazon.com, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft.

Alphabet stock finished the day up 1.7%. "The revenue beat was built on the company’s performance in Search ads, its third-party ad network, and through other services like the Google Play store and YouTube subscriptions," my colleague Adam Levine wrote. 

Alphabet declined to mention the words tariff or trade on its earnings call last night -- a bold approach that seemed to have assuaged investors for now. 

There is still plenty of concern about how tariffs could impact corporate margins in the months to come. For now, though, the latest earnings reports suggest that margins are in a decent place. By combining the reports thus far with analyst estimates on those still to come, FactSet calculates an S&P 500 operating profit margin of 12.4% for the first quarter of 2025. That's slightly below last quarter's figure, FactSet reports, but it's above a five-year average of 11.7%. The strong margin suggests companies could have a little wiggle room as tariffs hit the expense line. 

If earnings are, in fact, crowding out tariff talk, investors should feel good about next week, which is the busiest stretch of first-quarter earnings season. Roughly a third of the companies in the S&P 500 are scheduled to report next week. More on that below. 

Watch our TV show on Fox Business Saturday or Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET. This week, Pimco's Libby Cantrill on how tariffs will impact growth, inflation and interest rates. Plus, economic uncertainty is taking a toll on housing at the start of the crucial spring season.

DJIA: +0.05% to 40,113.50
S&P 500: +0.74% to 5,525.21
Nasdaq: +1.26% to 17,382.94

The Hot Stock: Charter Communications +11.4%
The Biggest Loser: Erie Indemnity -11.5%

Best Sector: Consumer Discretionary +1.8%
Worst Sector: Materials -0.7%

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