Friday marked another choppy day for stocks as market participants looked ahead to next week's raft of potential volatility-inducing events.
With nothing in the way of earnings or economic reports for investors to take in, single-stock news drove today's price action. Among the most notable moves was Tesla (TSLA) stock, which hit some major milestones following news of a big partnership with General Motors (GM).
Under the terms of the deal that was announced late Thursday, GM will have access to Tesla's network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across Northern America. General Motors CEO Mary Barra told CNBC that the agreement will save the Detroit-based automaker up to $400 billion of a previously estimated $750 billion it had earmarked to build out its own EV charging infrastructure. Tesla has a similar deal in place with Ford Motors (F, +1.2%).
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"After signing EV charging partnerships with the two largest domestic auto manufacturers by volume in a few short weeks, Tesla Superchargers have essentially become the industry standard for EV charging," says CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson. "While we expect some frustration from Tesla vehicle owners due to increased congestion, higher network utilization rates should boost its bottom line," the analyst adds.
GM shares climbed 1.1% today, while TSLA rose 4.1% to $244.40 – its highest close since October 4. What's more, this marked the 11th straight gain for Tesla stock, its longest daily win streak since January 2021, according to Morningstar.
Big gains for TSLA and GM helped consumer discretionary stocks (+0.5%) outperform today, with tech stocks (+0.5%) coming in a close second. At the other end of the sector spectrum were real estate (-0.5%) and materials stocks (-0.8%).
As for the major indexes, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 13,259, the S&P 500 added 0.1% to 4,298, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1% to 33,876.
Will the Fed pause or hike?
Will the Federal Reserve hike interest rates again or will it pause? That's the question on everyone's mind ahead of the next Fed meeting, which kicks off on Tuesday and wraps up Wednesday afternoon.
"If the Fed is truly data dependent and using their prior metrics, then they should raise rates by a further 25 basis points, given sticky inflation and a labor market that continues to produce jobs," says James Demmert, chief investment officer at Main Street Research. However, Demmert adds that the central bank has a long history of "placating markets" and could pause hiking this time around to satisfy investors.
Barclays economists, meanwhile, think it's "too close to call," and that the decision will likely hinge on the May consumer price index (CPI) report, which will be released ahead of Tuesday's open. "In our view, an outcome for Tuesday's May core CPI inflation exceeding the consensus of 0.4% month-over-month would likely be sufficient for a hike, depending on the composition across volatile and persistent components," the team wrote in a note to clients.
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