Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq whipsaw as bond yields surge, China-US trade war in focus

US stocks whipsawed on Friday as consumer sentiment tumbled, 10-year Treasury yields rose, and investors weighed the latest tariff development in the trade war between the US and China.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) flipped between positive and negative territory. At last read, the broad-based index rose 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also seesawed, gaining 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rising 0.4%.

Friday's session caps a chaotic week on Wall Street, with an increased focus on waning appetite for US assets. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) continued to climb to its highest level since February, touching 4.56%. Meanwhile, the dollar (DX=F) index tumbled while gold (GC=F) hit a fresh record.

Meanwhile, consumer sentiment tumbled to its lowest level since 2022 in April as the impacts of President Trump's tariff policies remained top of mind.

China said Friday it will raise duties on imports of US goods to 125%, compared with the 84% previously planned, effective Saturday. The move is in direct response to President Trump's ballooning "reciprocal" tariffs on China, the commerce ministry said, but it also suggested it will "ignore" any retaliatory US hikes in duties.

Trump's fast-moving tariff policy has whiplashed stocks this week, which saw the major US indexes notch historic gains during Wednesday's session but then tank on Thursday. Despite that rout, the major indexes are positioned for their best week in months, largely on the back of the mid-week surge.

Big Wall Street banks got first quarter earnings season going in earnest on Friday, with results rolling in from JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and BlackRock (BLK). Their results were closely studied for signs of headwinds from the tariff turmoil. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the US economy is going through "extreme turbulence."

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