Subdued friday belies stock market's best may in decades


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Investors may be closing out May on a subdued note Friday, with major indexes nursing modest losses after President Donald Trump lashed out at China amid an apparent stall in trade talks,


but major indexes are on track to deliver solid monthly gains. The S&P 500 was up 6.1% for May heading into Friday's session, on pace for its best monthly performance since November


2023, according to Dow Jones Market Data, and for its best May performance since May 1990, when it rose 9.2%. A 9.6% monthly rise for the Nasdaq Composite was on track for the best May


since 1997, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 3.9% rise was set for the best May since 2020.