Stocks Iffy on Trade Situation
February 11,2019 10:30 AM EST
Stocks opened higher on Monday amid increasing hope China and the U.S. will strike a trade deal to end the ongoing tariff war.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average faded 4.34 points to 25,101.99, though Visa and Nike outperformed.
The S&P 500 gained 3.67 points to 2,711.55, as the industrials and tech sectors rose.
The NASDAQ Composite took on 21.1 points to 7,319.29.
Shares of Boeing picked up 0.9%, and Deere gained 0.5%. The two are global-trade bellwethers
Caterpillar shares also rose 0.6%.
Tesla shares gained more than 2% after an analyst at Canaccord Genuity upgraded them to buy from hold. The analyst also hiked his price target to $450 a share from $330, implying a 47% upside over the next 12 months.
Axios reported on Sunday, citing two administration officials, that President Donald Trump''s advisors have informally discussed holding a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month at the Mar-a-Lago, Trump''s private club in Florida. This meeting could take place as soon as mid-March, the report said. However, the officials cited in the story added that nothing has yet been set.
That report comes after Trump said last week that a meeting between him and Xi would not happen before an early March deadline. If a trade deal is not reached before the deadline, additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will take effect. That deadline could be moved, however, according to reports.
The trade negotiations come amid slowing economic data out of China. Spending growth in China''s Lunar New Year fell to its lowest since 2005. Last month, the Chinese government revealed the country''s economy grew at its slowest pace in 28 years.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury lost ground, boosting yields to 2.66% from Friday''s 2.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices retreated 86 cents to $51.86 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices docked $8.30 to $1,311.20 U.S. an ounce.
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