S&P 500 opens higher as bulls target 5-day winning streak

U.S. stocks opened mixed on Friday, with the S&P 500 looking to clock a fifth consecutive day of gains.

As markets opened for the final trading session of the week, Wall Street saw the S&P 500 rise 0.1% to hover near 5,920. The benchmark index, which has posted four straight days of gains, could notch a fifth consecutive win to bolster investor confidence.

The S&P 500 is up 4.5% over the past week. Notably, it continues to rally after erasing all of its 2025 losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite showed mixed performance. In early trading, the Dow fell 70 points, while the Nasdaq gained more than 0.2%. Week-to-date, the Dow is up 2.6%, and the Nasdaq has climbed 6%.

A thawing in the U.S.-China trade tensions, on the back of this week’s announcement of de-escalation measures, also has investors upbeat. 

“We’re in the midst of a bear market cycle and this is a very violent but welcome relief rally,” said Katie Stockton, the founder and managing partner of Fairlead Strategies. 

Stockton shared her outlook as markets rebounded through the week.

Sentiment goes back to President Donald Trump’s announcement of a trade agreement with the United Kingdom and then China.

This positive outlook has also shown across the crypto market. After revisiting prices below $80 earlier amid tariff tensions since “Liberation Day”, Bitcoin (BTC) has risen in tandem with stocks. The benchmark digital asset is currently looking to cement gains above $103k. 

With risky assets bouncing, analysts are sharing notable forecasts as a fresh regulatory approach to the sector.

Mike Novogratz, the chief executive officer of Galaxy, told CNBC in an interview that President Donald Trump’s administration has so far been great for crypto.

Wall Street will be keen on a set of potential market factors on Friday. 

Among major areas of focus will be Trump’s tax bill that’s coming up for debate in the House Budget Committee.  Investors will also be keen on the University of Michigan’s highly anticipated consumer sentiment survey. 

The May data is in focus after April’s reading indicated a dip in sentiment amid inflation concerns.

But with the consumer price index falling, the market’s attention is on how the consumer has taken the tariffs issue in the aftermath of the reciprocal tariffs.