(The Closing Bell will be updated sometime after 4:00 PM CDST to include the latest updates from IBD and Bloomberg Evening Briefing.)
FYI: Stocks notched solid gains in a second quarter defined by an escalation in the U.S.-China trade fight and a perceived shift in the Federal Reserve’s appetite for interest-rate cuts.
With stocks edging higher Friday, the S&P 500 closed up 6.8% for the month and 3.7% for the quarter. The S&P notched its best June performance since 1955, when it gained 8.2%. The rise marks a reversal from the previous month, when the S&P 500 lost 6.6% in its worst May since 2010.
Nearly all the S&P’s quarterly gains were notched in April, as first-quarter earnings topped beaten-down expectations and investors embraced the belief that the U.S. and China were close to reaching a detente in trade negotiations. But that optimism vanished in May after President Trump said he would drastically ramp up U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports as talks fell apart. China and the U.S. took turns ratcheting up their rhetoric and threatening higher tariffs. Stocks and investor confidence tumbled in response.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.58%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 72 points, or 0.28%, to 26599. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.48%.
Roughly two-thirds of the stocks in the Dow industrials and more than 60% of the companies in the S&P 500 are up for the quarter, with technology firms notching some of the biggest gains. Tech stocks were on a roller-coaster ride during the period, as their profits tend to rely heavily on demand from China for their goods.
Material stocks also swung wildly during the past three months, hit by sliding prices of commodities like oil and copper, which tend to lose ground when investors are worried about the prospects for global growth. Shares of smaller companies, which are typically touted as havens when turmoil swirls overseas, lagged behind broader indexes, a move some analysts blamed on fears that the U.S. economy’s growth is cooling. The benchmark small-capitalization index Russell 2000 was on pace to rise 1.7% in the second quarter.
Companies that are more insulated from global growth fears, including tech stalwart Microsoft Corp. and Walt Disney Co. , were among the biggest gainers in the Dow.
The second quarter saw an extension of the volatility that has plagued the stock market since October. In the final three months of the year, stocks lurched lower, spooked by rising interest rates, trade tensions and signs that China’s economy may be slowing. The S&P 500 ended the fourth quarter down 14%. The following three months, stocks clawed back much of those losses, rising 13% as the Fed began to back off its plans for future rate increases and trade tensions appeared to be easing.
It wasn’t until April that the S&P 500 climbed back to its October 2018 highs. The Dow industrials remain 0.8% below their record, also set in October.
Regards,
Ted
MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-rise-poised-for-best-june-in-80-years-as-all-eyes-turn-to-hoped-for-china-trade-progress-2019-06-28/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/asian-stocks-slip-as-g-20-begins-11561708211Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-27/asia-stocks-to-start-mixed-ahead-of-trump-xi-meet-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/china-trade-talks-loom-stocks-close-higher/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/28/stock-market-trump-xi-meeting-at-the-g-20-summit-in-focus.htmlReuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-st-drifts-higher-with-g20-summit-underway-idUSKCN1TT1NMU.K:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/housebuilders-lead-ftse-100-rise-buyout-offer-helps-merlin-soar-idUKKCN1TT0XCEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-notch-best-first-half-gain-in-two-decades-idUSKCN1TT0Y6Asia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-slip-as-g-20-meeting-kicks-off-in-japan-2019-06-27/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/28/us-treasury-yields-rise-ahead-of-g-20-trade-meeting-between-us-and-china.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/28/forex-market-g-20-summit-us-china-trade-war-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/28/oil-market-g20-summit-us-china-trade-war-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/28/gold-market-g-20-summit-us-china-trade-war-in-focus.htmlWSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/usMajor ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitorSPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-trackerSPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectorsCurrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
