FYI: U.S. stocks edged higher Friday as trade tensions with China appeared to cool, putting major indexes on track for a third consecutive week of gains and within a hair of their records.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0..13%, for its eighth straight session of gains. The S&P 500 lost 0.08%, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped about 0.22%. All three indexes are up more than 1% for the week.
Easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, alongside the prospect of looser monetary policy around the world, helped lift stocks this week, pushing major indexes back toward highs reached in July. The indexes have rebounded after a volatile August that rattled share prices and government bond yields around the world.
Easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, alongside the prospect of looser monetary policy around the world, helped lift stocks this week, pushing major indexes back toward highs reached in July. The indexes have rebounded after a volatile August that rattled share prices and government bond yields around the world.
Investors continue to be preoccupied with the status of the trade talks. China said Friday that it wouldn’t impose new tariffs on U.S. soybeans, pork and other agricultural goods, a further sign of easing tensions between the two largest economies.
That followed a Wall Street Journal report earlier in the week that Beijing was making efforts to narrow the scope of negotiations and a postponement by President Trump of new tariffs that were set to be imposed on $250 billion of Chinese imports from Oct. 1.
Concerns about slowing growth in the U.S. also abated after fresh data showed American shoppers spent strongly in August.
That promoted investors to dump safer assets like Treasurys. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.834%, according to Tradeweb, from 1.789% Thursday. Yields rise as bond prices fall.
The lurch higher in bond yields helped shares of financial companies in the S&P 500, which were some of its biggest gainers.
Meanwhile, shares of smaller companies that have underperformed the S&P 500’s advance this year zipped past it. The Russell 2000 is up 5.3% this week, outpacing the S&P 500’s 1.3% gain.
Some investors remain on edge for other reasons. U.S. stocks ascended for much of last year before relinquishing their gains and falling into negative territory toward the end of the year as concerns about economic growth around the world weighed on share prices. They remain wary about a re-do. For example, the S&P 500 peaked last fall before tumbling almost by December.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 edged up 0.4% in midday trade. The relative quiet came after a volatile day for European stocks Thursday when the ECB launched a long-awaited package of stimulus measures, including an interest-rate cut and a renewed program of bond purchases, known as quantitative easing.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rallied 1% and Japan’s Nikkei was up 1.1%. Markets in China, Korea and Taiwan were closed for a holiday.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-13/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-and-sp-500-on-the-brink-of-fresh-all-time-highs-ahead-of-retail-sales-other-data-2019-09-13/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-edge-up-on-stimulus-trade-hopes-11568362969Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-12/asia-stock-futures-edge-higher-treasuries-slip-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-aims-eight-straight-stocks-pare-gains/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/13/stock-markets-dow-sp-500-close-to-all-time-highs-on-wall-street.htmlReuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/apple-broadcom-rein-in-wall-street-gains-on-trade-optimism-idUSKCN1VY19UU.K:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/brexit-optimism-breathes-life-into-uk-focussed-stocks-idUKKCN1VY0LPEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/banks-sizzle-as-european-stocks-log-fourth-week-of-gains-idUSKCN1VY0L0Asia:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/13/asia-markets-sept-13-us-china-trade-ecb-currencies-and-oil.htmlBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/13/us-treasury-yields-mixed-after-ecb-cuts-rates.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/13/oil-markets-us-china-trade-war-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/13/oil-markets-us-china-trade-war-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/13/gold-markets-us-china-trade-relations-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 
