JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, American Express gain on US budget bill prospects

JPMorgan (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS) and American Express (AXP) were three of the top five advancing Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) stocks at lunchtime on Friday. The financials have been pushed down to much more acceptable valuations over the past month as the United States (US) stock market digests worrisome economic data and the Donald Trump administration’s tariff-heavy trade war.

Investors decided to buy the dip on Friday despite higher inflation expectations data from surveyed Americans. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) climbed 1.5% by noon but remains more than 3% lower on the week. Likewise, the NASDAQ clawed back 2.3% at the time of writing but is down more than 2% on the week.

The University of Michigan released its preliminary 5-year Consumer Inflation Expectation survey for March, which saw Americans raise their estimates for US inflation to 3.9% from February’s 3.5% and 3.2% in January. The implication is that consumers expect President Trump’s tariffs to drive prices higher. 

“In a sign of this entrenched expectation, long-term inflation expectation rose to its highest since 1993," Wells Fargo's Tim Quinlan wrote in a client note.

Likewise, the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (CPI) abruptly collapsed from 64.7 in February to 57.9 in March, sharply below the consensus of 63.1.

Dow Jones financials: JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, American Express

After Nvidia (NVDA), JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and American Express were the best-performing Dow Jones stocks on Friday, at least through midday. Investors likely think a reprieve from the past week’s selling was overdue. 

Goldman Sachs stock has traded lower for the past three consecutive weeks and looks likely to reach a fourth by the close on Friday.

One primary positive narrative on Friday is that Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says he will vote yes on President Trump’s continuing resolution to fund the US federal government. Some observers think that this means that enough Democrats will join Republicans in voting for the resolution to pass. 

Since a number of Republicans are passing the bill that would raise the US debt limit, analysts suggest Trump’s party needs eight Democratic senators to join in passing the resolution.

Failure to pass a continuing resolution could subject the federal government to a temporary shutdown that would add anxiety to the market. The rumor is that it will come to a vote on Friday afternoon.

Among other bright spots in the market, both Docusign (DOCU) and Rubrik (RBRK) spiked after releasing better-than-expected earnings reports. Docusign stock surged 18%, while Rubrik climbed 26%.

JPM, GS, AXP year-to-date stock performance