Stocks ride May gains to best month since 2023 as investors look past trade concerns

Stocks ended the month of May with their best gains since 2023 as investors increasingly sought to put trade concerns in the rearview mirror.

Stocks ended the month of May with their best gains since 2023 as investors increasingly sought to put trade concerns in the rearview mirror.

The broad S&P 500 added 6.2% over the past 30 days, while the Nasdaq has surged 9.6% during that period — the strongest performance for both indexes since November 2023. For the S&P, it was the best May since 1990.

The 30-stock Dow climbed 3.9% on the month.

There has been seemingly no end to the market fluctuations that Trump’s trade war has set off. Friday was no exception, with jittery markets opening lower on fresh fears of renewed tensions with China. Yet they ultimately moved higher, ending the day largely flat.

They were helped by reassurances from President Donald Trump later in the day that he did not wish to fully reignite disputes with China. The soothing talk had some echoes of the "T.A.C.O." meme — "Trump Always Chickens Out" when it comes to conflicts — that gained momentum in investing circles earlier this week. (The president roundly rejected such an assertion when asked by a CNBC reporter.)