- The Dow bounced back as investors seized on bullish trade war news and ignored murkier headlines.
- Donald Trump and Xi Jinping both assessed the current state of US-China trade negotiations.
- Trump said a deal was “very close,” while Xi said China would fight to defend its interests.
The Dow recovered from yesterday’s losses on Friday, as investors gorged on the tastier morsels from a spate of bittersweet trade war headlines.
With the clock ticking on a new round of tariff hikes, enough rumors are swirling to satisfy bullish and bearish appetites alike.
Dow Snaps 3-Day Losing Streak
The US stock market ticked higher on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped its three-day losing streak, rising 41.63 points or 0.15% to 27,807.92.
The S&P 500 nudged 4.7 points or 0.15% higher to 3,108.44, and the Nasdaq climbed 16.11 points or 0.19% to 8,522.32.
The gold price also recovered; the yellow metal bounced 0.37% to $1,469, despite the risk-on move in stocks. The bitcoin price was not so lucky, and the leading cryptocurrency careened below $7,000 to extend its brutal plunge.
Trump & Xi Weigh in on State of Trade Talks
The Dow and its peers cautiously advanced amid a deluge of dizzying trade war headlines that mostly confirmed whatever preconceived notions investors already harbored.
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping both weighed in on the state of US-China relations, but neither man said anything that fundamentally altered the trade war forecast.
On Friday, President Trump told “Fox and Friends” that the US was “very close” to reaching a trade deal with China. That should be wildly bullish for stocks, except that he’s made the same claim multiple times since Oct. 11 – when he said that the two countries had already agreed to the outlines of a deal.
Considering that…
