FYI: U.S. stocks relinquished most of their early-morning advance to cap off a volatile month but remained on track to notch their biggest weekly gains since June.
Stocks, including shares of technology, consumer discretionary and communication companies, fell in midday trading, giving up their gains from earlier in the session. The reversal followed comments from President Trump who said on Twitter that the U.S. doesn’t “have a tariff problem…we have a Fed problem,” along with signs that Americans’ are growing more pessimistic on the economy.
The session resembled much of what investors have faced throughout August: A volatile stretch of trading that pulled major indexes lower and sent investors fleeing into haven assets, such as gold and U.S. Treasurys.
Investors got somewhat of a reprieve from that pressure this week after conciliatory remarks from both the U.S. and China soothed markets. That put all three major indexes on track to notch their first weekly gain since July even with Friday’s mixed session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 40 points, or less than 0.16%, to 26403 and the S&P 500 rose 0.06% . Technology stocks were hit, falling 0.13%. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 remain more than 3% off from their July records, while the Nasdaq remains down more than 4%.
Both the U.S. and China are set to impose new tariffs each other’s goods on Sunday and additional levies are scheduled to take effect later this year. Tariffs pressure corporate profit margins, crimp spending and could start to have an impact on consumers, analysts have said.
Tariffs appear to be taking a bigger toll on Americans. U.S. household sentiment fell in August from a month earlier, according to the University of Michigan, registering its biggest drop since December 2012, amid concerns over the trade war.
Those fears have driven prices of haven assets higher. Gold added 0.3%, extending its run this month to more than 7%, while Treasury yields fell further. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 1.518% Friday from more than 2% in late July.
On Friday, shares of technology and consumer discretionary companies led the S&P 500 lower. Industrial and financial stocks, two sectors that had been hard hit over the last month, rose about 0.5% each.
In corporate news, shares of Campbell Soup climbed 8.6% after it posted stronger quarterly results than expected. Shares of Big Lots rose 3.5% after the company reported higher-than-expected earnings.
And Tesla rose 2% after China said it would exempt 16 of the electric-car maker’s models from purchase tax.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 added 0.7%. Most Asian indexes outside of China advanced, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 1.2% and South Korea’s Kospi up 1.8%. The Shanghai Composite edged down 0.2% and stocks in Shenzhen slipped 0.7%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 0.1% following the cancellation of a weekend demonstration, but remained on pace for one of its biggest monthly drops in years, down 7% in August. Hong Kong stocks have been weighed by intensifying protests that have hurt the local economy and prompted concerns about a recession.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-29/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-up-over-150-points-as-trade-worries-ebb-bond-yields-rise-2019-08-30/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-gain-ahead-of-tariff-deadline-11567152245Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-29/asia-stocks-poised-to-gain-amid-trade-optimism-markets-wrapIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-scores-780-point-weekly-gain-how-did-august-go/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/stock-market-wall-street-in-focus-amid-us-china-trade-talks.htmlReuters:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-flattens-out-into-labor-day-weekend-idUKKCN1VK1GDU.K:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/gains-in-miners-trade-optimism-boost-ftse-100-idUKKCN1VK0OBEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-stocks-end-brutal-august-on-a-positive-note-idUSKCN1VK0O7Asia:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/asia-markets-august-30-us-china-trade-us-treasurys-currencies.htmlBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/us-bonds-wall-street-in-focus-amid-renewed-trade-talk-hopes.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/forex-markets-us-china-trade-war-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/oil-markets-us-china-trade-war-global-economy-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/gold-markets-us-china-trade-tensions-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 
