The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite marked their sixth straight day of gains. This milestone is a clear bullish indication for the long-term trend of U.S. equities. The broad-based S&P 500 index surged by 0.58% in the previous session. This jump marks a clear recovery following a short-lived bear market that came into effect on April 7. As April is set to come to a close, the S&P 500 has only fallen 0.9% this month. June’s barely perceptible decline is a testament to the market’s remarkable resilience.
The advance in the market occurs as investors wade through a range of earnings reports. In the last session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed over the 300-point milestone. Its futures are up now by another 39 points as of this writing, a gain of 0.09%. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.55%, extending its rallying streak.
In spite of these positive trends overall, there were some big misses in companies’ earnings reports. Starbucks shares fell 4% on the weekend. Last week, the coffee giant missed earnings and revenue expectations for its fiscal second quarter. The company’s same-store sales figures came out showing a decline for the fifth quarter in a row that has sparked concerns over its growth potential.
First Solar faced major test last week when its stock suddenly dropped 10%. That decrease came on the heels of the company’s full-year guidance, which proved to be a disappointment. The firm had initially forecast earnings of somewhere between $12.50 and $17.50 a share, which sent investors scrambling in fear of what the firm’s outlook could be. Further contributing to the dour mood was related to Booking Holdings shares, which lost 3%, capping off a bleak sentiment in the market.
Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial, who acknowledged the bullish momentum in U.S. equities last week said,
“U.S. equities have picked up the pace as April 30 rapidly approaches, aiming for the monthly flatline and recouping losses following President Donald Trump’s tariff barrage.”
Read together, this observation is a reminder of the market’s efforts to find steadiness in recent stormy seas from geopolitical tensions and trade policy.
So while there may be some booms and busts on individual stocks, investor sentiment seems to still be doing very well. This Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, focused on one particularly glaring difference in investor behavior, to terrific effect,
“Individual investors have held tight, while institutional investors have panicked.”
This sentiment suggests that while institutional investors react to market pressures, individual investors maintain confidence, potentially supporting the ongoing upward trend.