17th Aug 2018 21:16
WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday after recovering from an early move to the downside. The Dow added to the substantial gain posted in the previous session to reach its best closing level in nearly six months.
The major averages gave back some ground going into the close but remained in positive territory. The Dow climbed 110.59 points or 0.4% to 25,669.32, the Nasdaq inched up 9.81 points or 0.1% to 7,816.33 and the S&P 500 rose 9.44 points or 0.3% to 2,850.13.
For the week, the major averages turned in a mixed performance. While the Nasdaq dipped by 0.3%, the S&P 500 climbed by 0.6% and the Dow jumped by 1.4%.
Late-day buying interest was seen after a report from the Wall Street Journal said Chinese and US negotiators are drawing up a road map for talks to try to end their trade impasse.
Citing officials in both nations, the Journal indicated the plan would culminate in planned meetings between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at multilateral summits in November.
The report comes following yesterday's news that China accepted an invitation from the US for a new round of trade talks to be held later this month.
China's Ministry of Commerce said that a Chinese delegation led by Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen will travel to the US for trade talks to be held with US Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs David Malpass.
The Journal said the US-China trade talks in Washington would take place on August 21st and 22nd, just before the next round of tariffs targeting USD16 billion worth of goods on both sides kick in on August 23rd.
In US economic news, a report from the University of Michigan unexpectedly showed a notable deterioration in US consumer sentiment in the month of August.
The preliminary report said the consumer sentiment index dropped to 95.3 in August after edging down to 97.9 in July. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 98.0.
Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin said the decrease in consumer sentiment was concentrated among households in the bottom third of the income distribution amid less favorable perceptions of market prices.
"Overall, the data indicate that consumers have little tolerance for overshooting inflation targets, and to the benefit of the Fed, interest rates now play a more decisive role in purchase decisions," Curtin said.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the Conference Board showed a bigger than expected increase by its index of leading US economic indicators in the month of July.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by 0.6% in July following a 0.5% increase in June. Economists had expected the index to rise by 0.4%.
"The US LEI increased in July, suggesting the US economy will continue expanding at a solid pace for the remainder of this year," said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at the Conference Board.
Sector News
After falling sharply in recent sessions, gold stocks showed a substantial rebound on the day. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surged up by 2.5%, bouncing off its lowest closing level since early 2016.
The rebound by gold stocks came as the price of the precious saw further upside in electronic trading after ending the regular session only slightly higher.
Steel stocks also saw significant strength amid optimism about the trade talks between the US and China, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index advancing by 1.3%. The index climbed further off the eight-month closing low set on Wednesday.
Tobacco, computer hardware, and retail stocks also saw notable strength, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves to the upside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both rose by 0.4%, although China's Shanghai Composite Index bucked the uptrend and slumped by 1.3%.
Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the UK's FTSE 100 Index inched up by less than a tenth of a %, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries pulled back near the unchanged line going into the close. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, crept up by less than a basis point to 2.873%.
Looking Ahead
Following the slew of US economic data released over the past week, the economic calendar for next week is relatively quiet.
Reports on new and existing home sales and durable goods orders are still due to be released along with the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.
The Kansas City Fed's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is also likely to attract attention later in the week.
On the earnings front, Toll Brothers (TOL), Lowe's (LOW), Target (TGT), Alibaba (BABA), Sears (SHLD), Gap (GP), and HP Inc. (HPQ) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results next week.
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