FYI: U.S. stocks turned lower Friday after reports that a Chinese trade delegation would be returning home earlier than expected, souring hopes that Washington and Beijing were moving toward a trade deal.
The news capped off an eventful week that featured turmoil in money markets and an attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia that triggered dramatic swings in crude prices.
The blue-chip index fell 160 points, or 0.59%, in afternoon trading. The S&P 500 dropped 0.50%, while the Nasdaq Composite slumped 0.80%.
Stocks had opened higher but then dropped sharply after news agencies reported that Chinese agriculture officials had canceled a planned trip to Montana and were returning home.
All three indexes are on pace to close the week lower, after three consecutive weeks of gains. Still, both the Dow and S&P 500 are within 1.5% of their closing records reached in July.
Investors snapped up assets seen as safe havens. The yield on U.S. 10-year Treasurys fell to 1.758%, from 1.777% on Thursday.
Stock moves were muted this week, but volatility broke out in the oil market and an obscure corner of the financial system that banks rely on for short-term funding.
Rates on short-term repurchase agreements briefly jumped from around 2% to nearly 10% at the beginning of the week. The spike was caused by technical factors: corporate tax payments came due to the U.S. Treasury just as Treasury debt auctions settled, leading to large transfers of cash from the banking system.
U.S. crude oil slipped less than 0.1% to $58.09 a barrel on Friday after days of major price swings. Following an attack on key Saudi production facilities last weekend, oil futures spiked nearly 15%--their largest one-day move in years. But since then they have pared gains as Saudi officials have pledged to restore production to regular levels.
Netflix was one of the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 on Friday, down 6.2%. The streaming company has been under pressure in recent months amid a decline in its U.S. subscribers.
Overseas, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.3%. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite and Japan’s Nikkei both rose 0.2%.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-20/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-and-sp-500-set-to-test-record-highs-as-trump-administration-said-to-exempt-china-products-from-tariffs-2019-09-20/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-rise-at-the-end-of-a-bumpy-week-11568968985Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-19/asia-stocks-set-to-edge-higher-bond-yields-drift-markets-wrapIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/the-big-picture/stock-market-falls-on-china-trade-setback/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/20/stock-market-wall-street-in-focus-as-us-china-trade-talks-resume.htmlReuters:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-drops-after-china-cancels-visit-to-montana-farmland-idUKKBN1W51B6U.K:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/british-blue-chips-dented-by-sterlings-brief-brexit-uplift-idUKKBN1W50NQEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-log-fifth-week-of-gains-novo-nordisk-shines-idUSKBN1W51WYAsia:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/20/asia-pacific-stocks-set-to-trade-mixed-amid-us-china-trade-jitters.htmlBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/20/bonds-treasury-yields-fall-as-traders-monitor-us-china-trade-talks.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/20/forex-markets-federal-reserve-brexit-in-focus.htmlOil
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/20/oil-markets-middle-east-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/20/gold-markets-dollar-us-china-trade-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 
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