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A solid jobs report and company earnings spurred U.S. stocks broadly higher Friday, driving the S&P 500 to its second straight weekly gain.

The Nasdaq composite hit an all-time high for the second time this week. The benchmark S&P 500 index closed less than 0.1% below the record high it reached on Tuesday.

Technology and consumer-focused companies did the most to push the market higher. Stocks in the communications, industrial, financial and health care sectors also notched solid gains as traders cheered surprisingly good earnings from United States Steel, Weight Watchers and other companies.

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https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...markets-mixed-following-losses-on-wall-street

US Stocks End Broadly Higher on Solid Jobs Report, Earnings
A solid jobs report and company earnings spurred U.S. stocks broadly higher Friday, driving the S&P 500 to its second straight weekly gain.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 3, 2019, at 5:00 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

A solid jobs report and company earnings spurred U.S. stocks broadly higher Friday, driving the S&P 500 to its second straight weekly gain.

The Nasdaq composite hit an all-time high for the second time this week. The benchmark S&P 500 index closed less than 0.1% below the record high it reached on Tuesday.

Technology and consumer-focused companies did the most to push the market higher. Stocks in the communications, industrial, financial and health care sectors also notched solid gains as traders cheered surprisingly good earnings from United States Steel, Weight Watchers and other companies.

Investors also welcomed the government's latest snapshot of U.S. employment, which showed that job growth surged in April past economists' forecasts and unemployment fell to a five-decade low.

"Overall, this was a solid report that should assuage fears that the U.S. economy is losing momentum," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

The S&P 500 index gained 28.12 points, or 1%, to 2,945.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 197.16 points, or 0.7%, to 26,504.95. The Nasdaq composite climbed 127.22 points, or 1.6%, to 8,164.

Small-company stocks rose much more than the rest of the market, a bullish sign indicating that investors are more willing to take on risk. The Russell 2000 index picked up 31.37 points, or 2%, to 1,614.02.

Major indexes in Europe also closed higher.

Bond prices rose, sending the yield on the 10 year Treasury down to 2.52% from 2.55% late Thursday.

Despite a modest pullback earlier in the week, U.S. stocks have continued to press higher, extending their impressive recovery this year following a steep slump at the end of 2018.

The S&P 500 is now up 17.5% for the year. The Nasdaq is leading the way, however, with a gain of 23%.

The Federal Reserve fueled the market's recovery earlier this year when it signaled that it would take a patient approach to raising interest rates. Traders also have been encouraged by positive data on the U.S. economy and better-than-expected corporate earnings.

Corporate earnings for the first quarter have come in mixed so far, but good enough to ease worries that company profits would slump overall.

On Friday, United States Steel surged 17.3% after a sharp increase in sales helped push profit far beyond Wall Street forecasts.

Newell Brands, which makes Sharpie and Elmer's products, surged 13.5% on a solid earnings report.

Monster Beverage jumped 8.8% after the energy drinks company powered past analysts' first quarter profit forecast. The company reported a solid increase in sales of its namesake energy drink that helped drive a surge in profit.

Weight Watchers surged 13% after reporting losses for the first quarter that were much slimmer than expected. The company also raised its profit forecast for the year.

Arista Networks, a cloud computing company, plummeted 10.4% after telling investors that revenue in the current quarter will fall short of forecasts.

Meanwhile, Amazon rose 3.2% after billionaire investor Warren Buffet's said his company was buying the stock.

Crude oil prices recovered some of their losses from a day earlier. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.2% to settle at $61.94 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.1% to close at $70.85.

In other commodities trading, wholesale gasoline rose 0.4% to $2.03 per gallon. Heating oil slid 0.4% to $2.07 per gallon. Natural gas dropped 0.8% to $2.57 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold gained 0.7% to $1,281.30 per ounce, silver jumped 2.5% to $14.98 per ounce and copper added 1.4% to $2.82 per pound.

The dollar weakened to 111.09 Japanese yen from 111.50 yen late Thursday. The euro rose to $1.1194 from $1.1175.

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Fresh market jitters over the possibility of an escalation in the costly trade war between the U.S. and China pulled stocks broadly lower on Wall Street Monday.

President Donald Trump threatened over the weekend to raise tariffs on goods imported from China. Trump complained that the trade talks between the two countries are moving too slowly.

Stocks slumped early but then gradually recovered a good portion of the losses, a sign that investors' hopes of a trade deal haven't dimmed entirely. China remained committed to sending a delegation to talks later this week in Washington despite the Trump threat, and some investors appeared to conclude that the president's warning was just more high-stakes posturing.

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US Stocks Slide After Threat From Trump to Raise Tariffs
Fresh market jitters over the possibility of an escalation in the costly trade war between the U.S. and China pulled stocks broadly lower on Wall Street Monday.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 6, 2019, at 6:01 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Fresh market jitters over the possibility of an escalation in the costly trade war between the U.S. and China pulled stocks broadly lower on Wall Street Monday.

President Donald Trump threatened over the weekend to raise tariffs on goods imported from China. Trump complained that the trade talks between the two countries are moving too slowly.

Stocks slumped early but then gradually recovered a good portion of the losses, a sign that investors' hopes of a trade deal haven't dimmed entirely. China remained committed to sending a delegation to talks later this week in Washington despite the Trump threat, and some investors appeared to conclude that the president's warning was just more high-stakes posturing.

However, after the market closed, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that the tariff increases that Trump threatened to impose on China would go into effect 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Friday. He did say negotiations would resume Thursday in Washington.

The ratcheting up of the trade rhetoric from Washington came after the U.S. and China sent signals in recent months that talks on resolving the dispute were progressing.

Hopes for an accord between the world's two largest economies contributed to the big run-up in stock prices in the U.S. and China so far this year. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit all-time highs last week.

However, investors have gotten their hopes up that the trade issue was close to being resolved a number of times in recent months, only to be disappointed when new flare-ups arose.

U.S. companies with heavy business interests in China bore the brunt of the selling Monday, particularly technology and industrial companies. Banks also fell sharply. Health care stocks rose.

The S&P 500 dropped 13.17 points, or 0.4%, to 2,932.47. At one point, the benchmark index had been down 1.6%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66.47 points, or 0.3%, to 26,438.48. It had been down as much as 471 points in the first few minutes of trading.

"You've seen that the sell-off has been so far contained and part of that is the perception that the president has done this before," said Marina Severinovsky, investment strategist at Schroders.

The Nasdaq slid 40.71 points, or 0.5%, to 8,123.29. The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks bucked the trend, adding 0.95 points, or 0.1%, to 1,614.98.

Major indexes in Europe and Asia finished lower.

The U.S. and China have raised tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of each other's goods in their dispute over U.S. complaints about Chinese technology ambitions.

Trump turned up the heat Sunday when he threatened to raise tariffs on imports from China to 25% from 10%. He also said he would impose tariffs on another $325 billion in imports from China, covering everything the country ships annually to the United States.

Tariffs currently in place have already raised costs on goods for companies and consumers, and disrupted trade in goods from soybeans to medical equipment.

Many sectors of the market posted declines Monday, including technology, industrial and materials companies, retailers and banks.

Qualcomm, which gets 64.7% of its revenue from China, according to the data provider FactSet, fell 1.2%. Broadcom slid 1.3% and Apple dropped 1.5%.

Chipmakers Micron Technology and Advance Micro Devices each dropped 2.8%.

Industrial behemoth Caterpillar lost 1.7%, while Deere & Co. gave up 4%.

Wynn Resorts, with a host of casinos and hotels in Macau, gets about 75% of its revenue from China. Its stock tumbled 4.1%.

Investors fled to safer holdings. Bond prices rose, sending the 10-year Treasury yield down to 2.50% from 2.53% late Friday.

Chinese indexes plunged. The Shanghai Composite index closed 5.6% lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index sank 2.9%. European indexes fell broadly.

Shares of Chinese companies that trade in the U.S. also fell. J.D.com slid 4.5%, while internet search company Baidu dropped 1.5%.

Investors have been digesting mixed reports about the U.S.-China trade talks for months and have largely discounted concerns about a failure in negotiations. The broader market has been posting gains all year on encouraging economic growth and solid corporate earnings results.

Elsewhere in the market, Boeing fell 1.3% after it disclosed that it did not warn airlines about a faulty safety alert until after one of its planes crashed.

The sensors malfunctioned during an October flight in Indonesia and another in March in Ethiopia, causing software on the plane to push the nose down. Pilots were unable to regain control of either plane and both crashed, killing 346 people.

Energy futures closed mostly lower. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.5% to settle at $62.25 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.6% to close at $71.24.

Wholesale gasoline fell 1.5% to $2 per gallon. Heating oil slipped 0.1% to $2.07 per gallon. Natural gas dropped 1.7% to $2.52 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold gained 0.2% to $1,283.80 per ounce, silver lost 0.3% to $14.93 per ounce and copper added 0.4% to $2.83 per pound.

The dollar fell to 110.90 Japanese yen from 111.09 yen late Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1203 from $1.1194.
 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 470 points Tuesday amid a broad sell-off on Wall Street as the U.S. and China moved closer to an escalation of their already costly trade war.

The U.S. was set to impose higher tariffs on China on Friday, a day after representatives from both nations are scheduled to resume trade talks in Washington. Trump administration officials accused China of reneging on commitments made during weeks of negotiations.

Both sides had signaled progress was being made toward a resolution in recent weeks. Buoyed by those signs, as well as a more dovish stance on interest rates by the Federal Reserve and better signs on the economy, investors had furiously bought stocks and pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to all-time highs last week. All major indexes still have double-digit gains for the year.

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https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...stocks-mostly-higher-after-trump-trade-threat

Worsening US-China Trade Tensions Rattle Financial Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 470 points Tuesday as the U.S. and China moved closer to an escalation of their already costly trade war.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 7, 2019, at 5:04 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 470 points Tuesday amid a broad sell-off on Wall Street as the U.S. and China moved closer to an escalation of their already costly trade war.

The U.S. was set to impose higher tariffs on China on Friday, a day after representatives from both nations are scheduled to resume trade talks in Washington. Trump administration officials accused China of reneging on commitments made during weeks of negotiations.

Both sides had signaled progress was being made toward a resolution in recent weeks. Buoyed by those signs, as well as a more dovish stance on interest rates by the Federal Reserve and better signs on the economy, investors had furiously bought stocks and pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to all-time highs last week. All major indexes still have double-digit gains for the year.

Analysts said the market was vulnerable to any reversals in the trade talks. This week investors have dumped shares of companies that bring in significant revenue from China, such as those in the technology and industrial sectors. Banks have also taken heavy losses.

"This is a game of poker and the U.S. is playing their hand," said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at Voya Investment Management. "Let's say the worst happens and they raise tariffs on Friday, well you're going to get another buying opportunity."

Every sector fell. Utilities, normally safe-play holdings for investors, fared better than the rest of the market. Bond prices also rose as investors sought out other ways to reduce risk.

The S&P 500 index slumped 48.42 points, or 1.7%, to 2,884.05. The Dow lost 473.39 points, or 1.8%, to 25,965.09. The index had been down 648. The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, fell 159.53 points, or 2%, to 7,963.76.

The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks gave up 32.66 points, or 2%, to $1,582.31. Major indexes in Europe also finished lower.

The rout is the first big jolt for stocks since the turn of the year, when fear began draining out of the market and the S&P 500 started its march back to record heights.

The U.S. and China have raised tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of each other's goods in their dispute over U.S. complaints about Chinese technology ambitions.

Washington has accused Beijing of reneging on its commitments and is preparing to raise import taxes on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from 10%, and to impose tariffs on another $325 billion in imports, covering everything the country ships annually to the United States.

The possibility that the trade dispute could escalate represents a marked shift from just a few weeks ago, when talks between the U.S. and China appeared to be on track for an agreement.

The big rise in stocks since the beginning of the year partly reflects complacence among investors, said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research for Nationwide Investment Management.

"We've basically flipped from being too pessimistic to perhaps being too optimistic," he said.

The trade dispute between China and the United States is nothing new, and it had been hanging over the market even as the S&P 500 made its run to a record this year. But investors had been willing to push stocks higher despite it because they largely assumed a deal would eventually get done. That showed in share prices of U.S. companies that get big portions of their sales from China, which had done better than the rest of the market, according to analysts at Jefferies.

Trump's threat of additional tariffs is forcing investors to reassess those expectations. One measure of fear in the market, which tracks how much traders are paying to buy protection from price swings in the S&P 500, had its biggest jump Tuesday in nearly seven months. It remains low by historical standards, though, after earlier in the year dropping by more than half since the end of 2018.

It's yet to be determined whether the brinksmanship tactics from the Trump administration will help or hurt the prospects of a deal getting done quickly, something that investors want.

"This is such a short period of time that it's hard to speculate whether this will cause something to get done quickly or whether it will drag on for months," said Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

Energy futures closed mostly lower. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 1.4% to settle at $61.40 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 1.9% to close at $69.88.

Wholesale gasoline fell 2.4% to $1.95 per gallon. Heating oil lost 1.5% to $2.04 per gallon. Natural gas rose 0.5% to $2.54 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold gained 0.1% to $1,285.60 per ounce, silver was little changed at $14.93 per ounce and copper fell 1.6% to $2.79 per pound.

The dollar fell to 110.27 Japanese yen from 111.90 yen. The euro weakened to $1.1183 from $1.1203.
 
A modest rally faded in the last few minutes of trading on Wall Street, leaving stocks slightly lower Wednesday ahead of the latest round of trade talks between the U.S. and China.

The late-afternoon reversal added to the market's losses following a steep sell-off a day earlier as investors worry that the costly trade dispute between the world's two biggest economies will escalate.

Financial markets turned volatile this week after President Donald Trump threatened to impose more tariffs on Chinese goods, a threat that is set to become reality early Friday. Negotiations between the U.S. and China are scheduled to continue in Washington on Thursday, and will include China's top trade official.

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https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...china-trade-tensions-rattle-financial-markets

US Stocks Slide as Modest Rally Fades Ahead of Trade Talks
A modest rally faded in the last few minutes of trading on Wall Street, leaving stocks slightly lower Wednesday ahead of the latest round of trade talks between the U.S. and China.

By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 8, 2019, at 5:12 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

A modest rally faded in the last few minutes of trading on Wall Street, leaving stocks slightly lower Wednesday ahead of the latest round of trade talks between the U.S. and China.

The late-afternoon reversal added to the market's losses following a steep sell-off a day earlier as investors worry that the costly trade dispute between the world's two biggest economies will escalate.

Financial markets turned volatile this week after President Donald Trump threatened to impose more tariffs on Chinese goods, a threat that is set to become reality early Friday. Negotiations between the U.S. and China are scheduled to continue in Washington on Thursday, and will include China's top trade official.

Trump said on Twitter that China is coming "to make a deal" but that he'll still be ready to raise tariffs if the negotiations fail to produce an agreement.

That appeared to give the market a boost, but it didn't last.

"Investors are concerned that a deal may not be forthcoming," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. "You don't want to be caught off-guard by perhaps a negative comment out of Beijing overnight or, for that matter, the White House."

The S&P 500 index fell 4.63 points, or 0.2%, to 2,879.42. The benchmark index had been up 0.5%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 2.24 points, or less than 0.1%, to 25,967.33. The Nasdaq composite dropped 20.44 points, or 0.3%, to 7,943.32.

The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks slid 7.34 points, or 0.5%, to 1,574.97.

Major stock indexes in Europe closed with modest gains.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.48% from 2.44% late Tuesday.

Utilities, banks, internet companies and technology stocks accounted for much of the slide. NRG Energy fell 4.4%, Capital One Financial dropped 1.5%, Netflix slid 1.6% and Intel lost 2.5%. Health care stocks notched the biggest gains, led by McKesson Crop., which climbed 4.8%.

The U.S. and China have raised tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of each other's goods in their dispute over U.S. complaints about China's technology ambitions and practices.

Investors have been anticipating a deal throughout this year, which contributed to double-digit gains in all the major indexes. But the latest tough talk is raising anxiety on Wall Street and casting more doubt about a resolution.

The U.S. government has filed plans to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10% to 25% Friday. If it follows through on those plans, it would mark a sharp escalation in the yearlong trade dispute that has raised prices on goods for consumers and companies.

The Trump administration also has threatened to extend 25% tariffs to another $325 billion in Chinese imports, covering everything China ships to the United States.

The possibility that the trade dispute could escalate represents a marked shift from just a few weeks ago, when talks between the U.S. and China appeared to be on track for an agreement.

"There's still is uncertainty out there on the three possible outcomes: We get a trade deal out of this in the short term, we get something out of it in the long term and the U.S. and China keep talking, or we get no trade deal," said Jeff Zipper, managing director at U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management.

Investors also continued to pore over the latest batch of corporate earnings reports.

Lyft slumped 10.8% in heavy trading after reporting a first quarter loss late Tuesday that was far wider than Wall Street had forecast.

The ride-hailing company lost $1.1 billion in its first quarter as a public company, primarily because it paid out $894 million in stock-based compensation and related payroll taxes during its initial public offering.

Lyft's stock has now slumped 26.5% since its market debut on March 29. The report came just days before the hotly anticipated IPO of Lyft's much larger rival, Uber, on Friday.

Traders punished TripAdvisor's report of surprisingly low revenue during the first quarter. Analysts expected a gain. The company said international sales were softer than expected. The stock tumbled 11.4%.

Marathon Petroleum slid 7.1% after the oil refiner reported a surprise first quarter loss and announced the merger of two of its operations for $9 billion.

Others fared better. Electronic Arts rose 1.2% after the video game maker soared past Wall Street's fiscal fourth quarter profit forecasts. The company also beat revenue forecasts. It launched several new games during the quarter, including "Apex Legends" as it competes with hit games like "Fortnite" from rival Epic Games.

Qorvo climbed 3.4% after the chipmaker beat Wall Street's fourth-quarter profit and revenue forecasts gave investors a strong forecast for the current quarter.

Energy futures finished higher. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.2% to settle at $61.12 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 0.7% to close at $70.37.

Wholesale gasoline gained 1.3% to $1.98 per gallon. Heating oil picked up 0.9% to $2.06 per gallon. Natural gas rose 2.9% to $2.61 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold dropped 0.3% to $1,281.40 per ounce, silver slid 0.4% to $14.86 per ounce and copper fell 0.4% to $2.77 per pound.

The dollar fell to 110.13 Japanese yen from 110.27 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1192 from $1.1183.
 
Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday, extending the market's slide into a fourth straight day, as investors braced for a possible escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

Tensions between the world's two largest economies dragged stocks lower ahead of a Friday deadline when the United States said it would impose more tariffs on Chinese goods. The worries about trade this week have halted what has been the hottest start to a year for U.S. stocks in decades, and the S&P 500 index is on pace for its worst week of 2019.

Thursday's sell-off began steep and widespread, but lost momentum by afternoon, allowing the market to stem some of its losses.

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https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ostly-lower-amid-jitters-ahead-of-trade-talks

Stocks End Lower Ahead of US-China Trade War Deadline
Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday, extending the market's slide into a fourth straight day, as investors braced for the possible escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 9, 2019, at 4:48 p.m.

By STAN CHOE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday, extending the market's slide into a fourth straight day, as investors braced for a possible escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

Tensions between the world's two largest economies dragged stocks lower ahead of a Friday deadline when the United States said it would impose more tariffs on Chinese goods. The worries about trade this week have halted what has been the hottest start to a year for U.S. stocks in decades, and the S&P 500 index is on pace for its worst week of 2019.

Thursday's sell-off began steep and widespread, but lost momentum by afternoon, allowing the market to stem some of its losses.

Still, analysts said the market was likely in for more pain until the uncertainty over the costly trade dispute is resolved.

"China and trade remain the biggest drag and the biggest overhang for the market," said Ben Phillips, chief investment officer at EventShares. "If there's not a deal within the next four to six weeks, the market is going to continue to be under pressure and sell off."

The S&P 500 fell 8.70 points, or 0.3%, to 2,870.72. The benchmark index has essentially given back all its April gains, though it's still up 14.5% for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 138.97 points, or 0.5%, to 25,828.36. It was down nearly 450 points in morning trading before regaining much of the ground it lost.

The Nasdaq composite slid 32.73 points, or 0.4%, to 7,910.59. The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks gave up 4.92 points, or 0.3%, to 1,570.06.

Major indexes in Europe and Asia also finished lower.

Bond prices didn't move much. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.45%.

The U.S. government has filed plans to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10% to 25%. The Trump administration has also threatened to extend 25% tariffs to another $325 billion in Chinese imports, covering everything China ships to the United States.

If the increases take effect as planned, Beijing will impose "necessary countermeasures," the Commerce Ministry said. It gave no details, but a ministry spokesman said Beijing has made "all necessary preparations," suggesting it might be bracing for a worsening conflict.

Such moves would mark a sharp escalation in the trade dispute that has raised prices on goods for consumers and companies.

Technology stocks were among the big decliners, as many companies in the sector get much of their revenue from China. The sector slid 0.7%.

Raw material producers also took heavy losses. Real estate stocks, which investors see as a safe-play sector, eked out a slight gain.

Occidental Petroleum tumbled 6.4% after Chevron pulled out of a potential bidding war with the company to buy Anadarko. Energy companies also fell with the price of oil, as benchmark U.S. crude dropped 0.7% to settle at $61.70 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, closed essentially flat at $70.39 per barrel.

CenturyLink skidded 5% after the communications provider reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Investors bid up shares in Tapestry after the maker of Kate Spade and Coach handbags beat first quarter profit forecasts and announced a $1 billion stock buyback plan. The stock vaulted 8.5%, the biggest gainer in the S&P 500.

The trade war between Washington and Beijing is nothing new. The U.S. and China have already raised tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of each other's goods in their dispute over U.S. complaints about Beijing's industrial and technology policies and a perennial U.S. deficit in trade with China.

But earlier this year, investors were growing increasingly confident that the two sides would eventually find a deal on trade. That helped to calm markets following a tumultuous end to 2018, and the S&P 500 rallied back to a record despite the trade dispute.

A more patient Federal Reserve, which said it may not raise interest rates at all this year, also helped to clear worries about a possible recession, and the S&P 500 vaulted 17.5% higher in the first four months of the year.

But the calm shattered earlier this week after the United States set the Friday deadline for adding more tariffs.

"We need to be prepared for continuing uncertainty in the trade war," said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco.

Investors prematurely priced a resolution into the markets, she said, and now it's likely the additional tariffs will be applied. She said investors still want to believe that a positive resolution is possible and any progress in the negotiations now could "create something of a rally or certainly help stabilize stocks."

In other commodities trading Thursday, wholesale gasoline ended little changed at $1.98 per gallon. Heating oil dropped 0.6% to $2.04 per gallon. Natural gas slid 0.6% to $2.60 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 0.3% to $1,285.20 per ounce, silver slid 0.6% to $14.77 per ounce and copper inched 0.1% lower to $2.77 per pound.

The dollar fell to 109.69 Japanese yen from 110.13 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1224 from $1.1192.
 
Wall Street capped a turbulent week with a late-day rally Friday after shaking off an early slump triggered by the latest escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

The market fell sharply in the early going after the U.S. raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods when negotiators failed to reach a deal. Hours later, remarks from President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin gave investors reason for optimism.

First, Mnuchin told CNBC that the trade talks had been "constructive," which spurred the market's rebound. Then, in a late-afternoon tweet, Trump suggested the tariffs could be removed and that the trade talks "will continue."

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https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ostly-gain-shanghai-up-3-after-us-tariff-hike

Stocks Rebound as Hopes Rise That Trade Tensions Will Ease
Wall Street capped a turbulent week with a late-day rally Friday after shaking off an early slump triggered by the latest escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 10, 2019, at 5:07 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Wall Street capped a turbulent week with a late-day rally Friday after shaking off an early slump triggered by the latest escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

The market fell sharply in the early going after the U.S. raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods when negotiators failed to reach a deal. Hours later, remarks from President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin gave investors reason for optimism.

First, Mnuchin told CNBC that the trade talks had been "constructive," which spurred the market's rebound. Then, in a late-afternoon tweet, Trump suggested the tariffs could be removed and that the trade talks "will continue."

The afternoon pickup led to a broad reversal in the market, leaving only health care stocks with a loss. Still, the buying did little to blunt the overall sharp decline for stocks this week. The benchmark S&P 500 index finished with its worst weekly loss of the year, 2.2%.

"Nobody wants to sell too aggressively just in case things get settled and the market rallies," said J.J. Kinahan, chief market strategist for TD Ameritrade. "As long as they're still talking there's a chance that this gets done."

The S&P 500 index rose 10.68 points, or 0.4%, to 2,881.40. The broad index, which earlier had been down 1.6%, has given back much of the gains it made in April. It's still up 14.9% for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 114.01 points, or 0.4%, to 25,942.37. It was down as much as 358 earlier. The Nasdaq added 6.35 points, or 0.1%, to 7,916.94. The technology heavy index rebounded after having been down as much as 1.9% earlier.

The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks also closed higher after being down much of the day. It picked up 2.94 points, or 0.2%, to 1,572.99. Major indexes in Europe closed mostly higher.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.47% from 2.45% late Thursday.

The higher tariffs from the U.S. and China's response that it would take "necessary countermeasures" rattled investors Friday who had been hoping for a quick resolution to the dispute. Confidence in that outcome had eased investors' concerns this year, along with a more patient Federal Reserve and solid economic data. It all added up to help push stocks to their hottest start to a year in decades.

The trade war has stressed consumers and companies with higher costs on goods. The latest tariff increase raises tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese imports. Trump has signaled that he might expand penalties to all Chinese goods shipped to the U.S.

The reaction in the stock market this week has been sharp, but even after this week's tumult, the S&P 500 index remains within 2.2% of its record set on April 30.

That's because many investors continue to expect the United States and China to come to an agreement eventually, said Anthony Saglimbene, global market strategist at Ameriprise Financial. Neither country would benefit from not getting a deal, he said. In the meantime, the U.S. job market continues to grow, and balance sheets for American households remain better than before the Great Recession.

"We have advised long term investors to look through the noise of the next few weeks and what goes on with trade because the economy is strong and earnings should grow better than expected," Saglimbene said. "I wouldn't expect the market would go down 5 or 10% just because we put these tariffs on. I would expect it would decline 5 or 10% if the trade tensions are escalating."

Things, though, could get dicier not only if the U.S.-China talks break down but also if the trade war intensifies on other fronts. The United States may be nearing a decision on whether to impose tariffs on imports of European automobiles, for example.

The market's gains this year had been slow but steady up until this week. Prior to this week, the S&P 500 only had four losing weeks this year, most of them minor. Other than that, it's been mostly up amid a mostly muted year with no major market-moving news. Investors have been cautiously watching corporate earnings, and have been mostly surprised by solid results, though several big companies, including Mylan, TripAdvisor and Wynn Resorts fell sharply after disclosing disappointing earnings or outlooks.

The slump this week has been especially hard on technology stocks, which have far outpaced the rest of the market this year. Those companies do a lot of business in China and would stand to lose greatly if the trade war drags on.

The Nasdaq index, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, lost 3% for the week after an even stronger run this year than the S&P 500. The weekly drop is only its third this year and the biggest since late December. The Nasdaq is still up 19.3% in 2019.

Uber had an inauspicious debut on the stock market. The giant ride-hailing company's hotly anticipated stock offering landed with a flop as its shares slid as low as $41.06 in very heavy volume shortly after trading opened. That was well below Uber's initial offering price of $45 a share. That price was already at the low end of its targeted price range. It closed 7.6% lower at $41.57.

Investors are cautious about Uber after its main rival, Lyft, had a rollercoaster stock market debut on March 29. Lyft initially surged well beyond its IPO price, but then slumped on its first full day of trading. That stock closed Friday at $51.09, down 7.4% on the day and well below its IPO price of $72.

Energy futures finished mostly higher. Benchmark U.S. crude inched 0.1% lower to settle at $61.66 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, closed 0.3% higher at $70.62 per barrel.

Wholesale gasoline added 0.7% to $1.99 per gallon. Heating oil gained 0.3% to $2.05 per gallon. Natural gas picked up 0.9% to $2.62 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 0.2% to $1,287.40 per ounce, silver added 0.1% to $14.79 per ounce and copper inched 0.1% higher to $2.77 per pound.

The dollar rose to 109.90 Japanese yen from 109.69 yen on Thursday. The euro strengthened to $1.1231 from $1.1224.

8776
 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 600 points Monday as investors sought shelter from an escalating trade war between the U.S. and China.

The selling was widespread and heavy, handing the benchmark S&P 500 index its biggest loss since January. The sell-off extended the market's slide into a second week. The losses so far in May have now erased the market's gains from April.

Technology companies, which do a lot of business with China, led the way lower. Chipmakers were among the biggest decliners. Apple also took heavy losses, tumbling 5.8%. Farming equipment maker Deere drove losses in the industrial sector.

China on Monday announced tariff increases on $60 billion of U.S. imports, particularly farm products like soybeans. The price of soybeans slid 0.8% to $8.04 a bushel. They were trading around $9 a bushel last month and are now at their lowest price since December 2008. The falling price has put pressure on U.S. farmers.

Technology stocks took the heaviest losses Monday. Chipmakers Microchip Technology dropped 6.3% and Advanced Micro Devices lost 6.2%.

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Escalating US-China Trade War Sends Stocks Plunging
Stocks plummeted Monday as the U.S. and China rattle markets with an escalating trade war.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 13, 2019, at 5:31 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 600 points Monday as investors sought shelter from an escalating trade war between the U.S. and China.

The selling was widespread and heavy, handing the benchmark S&P 500 index its biggest loss since January. The sell-off extended the market's slide into a second week. The losses so far in May have now erased the market's gains from April.

Technology companies, which do a lot of business with China, led the way lower. Chipmakers were among the biggest decliners. Apple also took heavy losses, tumbling 5.8%. Farming equipment maker Deere drove losses in the industrial sector.

The world's two largest economies had seemed to be on track to resolve the ongoing trade dispute that has raised prices for consumers and pinched corporate profit margins. Hopes for a resolution had helped push the market to its best yearly start in decades.

Those hopes are now replaced by concerns that a full-blown trade war could crimp what is otherwise a mostly healthy economy.

"The larger issue with the tariffs isn't the specific amounts of tariffs at any given time, but the uncertainty that's surrounding these tariffs and the 'what's-next?' of an escalating trade war," said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. "That weighs on the global economy and could then weigh on the U.S. economy."

The Dow dove 617.38 points, or 2.4%, to 25,324.99. Earlier, it was down 719 points. Apple and Boeing were the Dow's biggest decliners. Both companies get a significant amount of revenue from China and stand to lose heavily if the trade war drags on. Boeing slid 4.9%.

The broader S&P 500 index fell 69.53 points, or 2.4%, to 2,811.87. The index is coming off its worst week since January, though it's still up sharply for the year. The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, slid 269.92 points, or 3.4%, to 7,647.02, its worst drop of the year.

The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks lost 49.99 points, or 3.2%, to 1,523.

Trade talks between the U.S. and China concluded Friday with no agreement and with the U.S. increasing import tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from 10%. Officials also said they were preparing to expand tariffs to cover another $300 billion of goods.

China on Monday announced tariff increases on $60 billion of U.S. imports, particularly farm products like soybeans. The price of soybeans slid 0.8% to $8.04 a bushel. They were trading around $9 a bushel last month and are now at their lowest price since December 2008. The falling price has put pressure on U.S. farmers.

Analysts have said investors should prepare for a more volatile stock market while the trade dispute deepens. Many are still confident that both sides will eventually reach a deal.

"Since we see a trade accord being reached in the not-too-distant future, we don't expect the market to endure more than a short-lived spate of indigestion," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.

Technology stocks took the heaviest losses Monday. Chipmakers Microchip Technology dropped 6.3% and Advanced Micro Devices lost 6.2%.

Some of the biggest chipmakers in the U.S. lean heavily on China for their sales, making them particularly vulnerable to the worsening tensions between the two countries. With China now retaliating against the Trump administration's tariffs, it has become more likely the chip sector will be caught in the crossfire and take a hit to their profits.

The list of chipmakers that get at least one-quarter of their revenue from China include: Qualcomm (65, Micron (57%), Texas Instruments (43%), Microchip Technology (29%), Intel (26%) and Xilinx (25%), according to FactSet Research.

Bank stocks also fell sharply. Bank of America dropped 4.5% and JPMorgan Chase fell 2.7%.

Safe-play holdings were the only winners as traders sought to reduce their exposure to risk. Utilities were the only sector to notch a gain. Prices for U.S. government bonds, which are considered ultra-safe investments, rose sharply, sending yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.40% from 2.45% late Friday.

In another sign of how nervous investors were feeling, an index known as Wall Street's "fear gauge," which measures how much volatility the market expects in the future, spiked 28.1%. The VIX, however, is still far below the elevated levels it reached at the end of last year when the S&P 500 came extremely close to entering a bear market, meaning a decline of 20% or more from a recent peak.

The deteriorating trade negotiations follow what has been a mostly calm period of trading where solid economic data and corporate earnings helped push the market steadily higher. The S&P 500 is still up 12.2% of the year with technology stocks still boasting an 18% gain.

First quarter corporate earnings reports have been better than expected. Instead of a sharp contraction, profits for the S&P 500 are down less than 1%. However, the fallout from the trade war could spoil an expected earnings recovery in the second half.

The escalating trade war threatens to spoil an expected earnings recovery in the second half, however.

"Investors are increasingly worried an anticipated second-half profit rebound may now evaporate as President (Donald) Trump's threat to tariff the remaining $325 billion in Chinese imports would disproportionately target consumer products like iPhones, thereby posing a greater threat to the consumption-driven US economy," said Alec Young, managing director of global markets research at FTSE Russell.

Elsewhere in the market, generic drug developers slumped after many of them were accused of artificially inflating and manipulating prices. A lawsuit from attorneys general in more than 40 states alleges that for many years the makers of generic drugs worked together to fix prices.

Teva, which was specifically mentioned, sank 14.8%. Mylan skidded 9.4%

Ride-sharing company Uber tumbled another 10.8% on its first full day of trading following its rocky debut on the stock market Friday. The stock had priced at $45 at its initial public offering. It closed at $37.10.

Gold mining companies rose as the price of gold, another safe-play asset, rose 1.1% to $1,301.80 an ounce. Newmont Goldcorp rose 2.5%.

Energy futures finished mostly lower. U.S. crude dropped 1% to settle at $61.04 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, closed 0.6% lower at $70.23 per barrel.

Wholesale gasoline slid 1.3% to $1.96 per gallon. Heating oil lost 0.6% to $2.04 per gallon. Natural gas inched 0.1% higher to $2.62 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Silver slipped 0.1% to $14.78 per ounce and copper rose 2% to $2.72 per pound.

The dollar fell to 109.34 Japanese yen from 109.90 yen on Friday. The euro held steady at $1.1231.
 
Stocks climbed on Tuesday and clawed back a chunk of their losses from Monday's rout, the latest whipsaw move as investors weigh just how badly the escalating U.S.-China trade war will hurt the economy.

The day's rally was nearly a mirror image of Monday's plunge, when the S&P 500 had its worst day since early January, just not as severe: Technology companies led the way higher after bearing the brunt of the selling on Monday, Treasury yields rose modestly and gold gave back a bit of its gains.

The S&P 500 rose 22.54 points, or 0.8%, to 2,834.41. It recovered nearly a third of its loss from Monday, and would now need to rise 3.9% to regain the record it set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 207.06, or 0.8%, to 25,532.05, and the Nasdaq composite index jumped 87.47, or 1.1%, to 7,734.49.

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Stocks Rise, Claw Back Chunk of Monday's Trade-War Plunge
Stocks clawed higher and regained some lost ground following a rout over trade war anxiety.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 14, 2019, at 4:45 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and STAN CHOE, AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks climbed on Tuesday and clawed back a chunk of their losses from Monday's rout, the latest whipsaw move as investors weigh just how badly the escalating U.S.-China trade war will hurt the economy.

The day's rally was nearly a mirror image of Monday's plunge, when the S&P 500 had its worst day since early January, just not as severe: Technology companies led the way higher after bearing the brunt of the selling on Monday, Treasury yields rose modestly and gold gave back a bit of its gains.

The S&P 500 rose 22.54 points, or 0.8%, to 2,834.41. It recovered nearly a third of its loss from Monday, and would now need to rise 3.9% to regain the record it set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 207.06, or 0.8%, to 25,532.05, and the Nasdaq composite index jumped 87.47, or 1.1%, to 7,734.49.

Of course, stocks are still lower than they were last week, following China's pledge to raise tariffs on U.S. goods. Stocks also remain lower than they were on May 5, when President Donald Trump ignited this latest round of fear for markets by announcing on Twitter that the U.S. would raise tariffs on Chinese goods.

Tuesday's rally came after another round of morning Trump tweets on trade. He said, "When the time is right we will make a deal with China," and he cited his "unlimited" respect for and friendship with China's leader.

Investors are looking for a "place of equilibrium," said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research for Nationwide Investment Management.

"My skepticism is that there's really not a lot of news driving the rally," he said. "It feels like an attempted recovery that may not have legs."

In the meantime, any further hints of resolution on the trade dispute — or Twitter storms — could drive markets into their next swing.

"We're not counting on a full resolution," said John Lynch, chief investment strategist at LPL Financial. "But, we're looking for a path to progress."

The worries about trade have shattered what had been a remarkably steady rise for stocks at the start of this year. As 2019 began, investors increasingly bet that a trade deal would happen, and the Federal Reserve said it would take a pause in raising interest rates, which helped the S&P 500 rocket to its best start to a year in decades.

If the trade dispute gets worse, or lasts longer than many expect, it could hurt confidence among businesses and households. If that in turn drives spending lower, it would lead to lower economic growth and corporate profits.

On Tuesday, at least, such worries eased. An index known as Wall Street's "fear gauge," which measures how much traders are paying to protect themselves from upcoming price swings for stocks, dropped 12.1%. A day earlier, it had spiked 28.1 %.

The VIX index remains higher than it's been for much of the past five years, but fear is considerably lower than it was during the market sell-off late last year sparked by worries about a possible recession.

Investors also returned to stocks of tech companies, which may have the most to lose from a protracted U.S.-China trade battle because many of their customers and suppliers are abroad. Tech stocks in the S&P 500 jumped 1.6%, with semiconductor companies making particularly big gains.

A day earlier, tech stocks had taken the market's heaviest losses.

On the flip side were utility stocks, which were the only one of the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500 to fall. A day earlier, when all the fear in the market put an alluring spotlight on the utility sector's steady profits and dividends, they had been the only S&P 500 sector to manage a gain.

Other investments seen as safe harbors also dropped, such as U.S. government bonds. When a bond's price falls, its yield rises, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.41% from 2.40% late Monday. It was at 2.45% at the end of last week.

Gold is another investment that tends to do fade when investors are feeling more optimistic, and it fell $5.50 to settle at $1,296.30 per ounce.

In overseas stock markets, European indexes gained. The French CAC 40 jumped 1.5%, the German Dax rose 1% and the FTSE 100 in London climbed 1.1%. Asian markets were mixed. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 1.5%, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% and South Korea's Kospi ticked up 0.1%.

In the commodities markets, silver rose 4 cents to $14.81 per ounce, and copper gained a penny to $2.73 per pound.

Benchmark U.S. oil rose 74 cents to settle at $61.78 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained $1.01 to $71.24 a barrel.

Natural gas rose 4 cents to $2.66 per 1,000 cubic feet, heating oil rose 2 cents to $2.06 per gallon and wholesale gasoline rose a penny to $1.98 per gallon.

The dollar rose to 109.64 Japanese yen from 109.34 yen late Monday. The euro slipped to $1.1207 from $1.1231, and the British pound fell to $1.2905 from $1.2965.
 

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SEA OF GREEN IS VERY PLEASING

Stocks reversed an early slide on Wall Street and finished broadly higher Wednesday, giving the market its second straight gain in a week of bumpy trading.

Big technology and communications companies, including Microsoft, Apple and Google parent Alphabet, led the rally as the market shrugged off an initial stumble. Banks took heavy losses following a sharp drop in bond yields.

Investors got in a buying mood after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin gave a Senate subcommittee a promising update on the Trump administration's efforts to reach a trade deal with Canada and Mexico. Markets also got a boost from reports that the White House plans to delay new tariffs on car and auto parts imports from Europe by up to six months.

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US Stocks Extend Gains After Recovering From Early Slide
Stocks reversed an early slide on Wall Street and finished broadly higher Wednesday, giving the market its second straight gain.

By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 15, 2019, at 5:01 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Stocks reversed an early slide on Wall Street and finished broadly higher Wednesday, giving the market its second straight gain in a week of bumpy trading.

Big technology and communications companies, including Microsoft, Apple and Google parent Alphabet, led the rally as the market shrugged off an initial stumble. Banks took heavy losses following a sharp drop in bond yields.

Investors got in a buying mood after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin gave a Senate subcommittee a promising update on the Trump administration's efforts to reach a trade deal with Canada and Mexico. Markets also got a boost from reports that the White House plans to delay new tariffs on car and auto parts imports from Europe by up to six months.

"The market does not believe that the trade discord will be protracted or widen, nor lead to a worldwide economic slowdown, or worse yet, a global recession," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.

The S&P 500 index gained 16.55 points, or 0.6%, to 2,850.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115.97 points, or 0.5%, to 25,648.02. The index had briefly fallen 190 points.

The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, added 87.65 points, or 1.1%, to 7,822.15.

Small-company stocks lagged the market. The Russell 2000 index picked up 5.21 points, or 0.3%, to 1,548.27.

Major indexes in Europe closed higher.

Stocks have been whipsawed this week by worries over the worsening trade relationship between China and the U.S. and the fallout it may have on the broader global economy. The market plunged Monday, bounced back Tuesday and see-sawed Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Mnuchin told a Senate subcommittee that the U.S. is making progress on lifting tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico, potentially overcoming a key hurdle toward approval of a trade agreement between the three countries.

Addressing another contentious trade issue, Mnuchin also said he expects to soon travel to Beijing with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to resume negotiations on the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. President Donald Trump has said that he expects to meet Xi in late June at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

Tensions between the world's two biggest economies intensified over the last week. The Trump administration more than doubled tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports and spelled out plans to target the $300 billion worth that aren't already facing 25% taxes. The escalation covers everything from sneakers to toasters to billiard balls. The Chinese have retaliated by hiking tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. imports.

The escalation in trade tensions surprised investors who had been expecting a resolution. That confidence was a key component of the stock market's sharp gains so far this year. Analysts have been warning that the stock market will remain volatile as long as the U.S. and China remain locked in their latest spat.

Major carmakers turned higher Wednesday following media reports that the U.S. is planning to delay new tariffs on car and auto part imports from Europe. The proposed tariffs would add another front to U.S. trade disputes and increase investors' anxiety.

Both European and U.S. automakers stand to suffer from retaliatory tariff increases that would cut into international sales. Ford rose 1.2%, Fiat Chrysler added 1.5% and General Motors gained 0.9%.

Wednesday's rally could be a case of investors reading too much into what is otherwise good news on the trade front. In this case, the potential delay in tariff increases for European cars could signal something more worrisome.

"The market is having an overly optimistic reaction to the small kernels of positive news flow that have come out today," said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco. "I would argue the developments we heard today only underscore the precarious situation the U.S. is in with China."

Banks lagged the broader market as bond yields slumped. Bond prices rose sharply, sending yields lower, after some surprisingly disappointing economic data in the U.S. including weak figures on retail sales and industrial production.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which is used to set rates on many kinds of loans including mortgages, fell to 2.37% from 2.42% late Tuesday, a large move.

That decline in yields hurts banks because it cuts into profit from interest on loans. Bank of America fell 1.2% and Citigroup slid 0.6%.

Technology and communications stocks accounted for much of the market's rally. Microsoft rose 1.4%, Apple gained 1.2% and Alphabet climbed 4.1%. Video game publisher Activision Blizzard also rose, adding 3.5%.

Not all technology stocks did well, however. Chipmakers, which are heavily dependent on China for sales, remained weak. Nvidia skidded 1.5%.

Progressive rose 5.2% after it gave investors a solid first quarter earnings report and renewed its stock buyback plan. The insurance company reported a sharp rise in written premiums.

Agilent plunged 11% after cutting its revenue forecast for the year following a disappointing first quarter. The scientific instruments maker reported first quarter profit and revenue that fell short of Wall Street forecasts.

Alibaba climbed 1.6% after the online retailer blew past Wall Street forecasts for first quarter profit. The Hong Kong-based company also beat revenue forecasts for the quarter.

Energy futures finished mostly higher. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.4% to settle at $62.02 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, closed 0.7% higher at $71.77 per barrel.

Wholesale gasoline climbed 1.8% to $2.01 per gallon. Heating oil gained 1.3% to $2.09 per gallon. Natural gas fell 2.2% to $2.60 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold inched 0.1% higher to $1,297.80 per ounce, silver held steady at $14.81 per ounce and copper gained 0.7% to $2.74 per pound.

The dollar fell to 109.54 Japanese yen from 109.64 yen on Tuesday. The euro weakened to $1.1204 from $1.1207.
 
Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street for the third straight day Thursday, led by solid gains in technology companies and banks.

The latest gains extend the market's turnaround from the start of the week, when stocks nosedived as the trade conflict between the U.S. and China escalated, stoking investors' fears about the fallout for the global economy and corporate profits.

Traders have since been encouraged by signals that Washington and Beijing are still planning to continue negotiations. And they've found relief in reports indicating that the U.S. is backing away from raising tariffs on auto imports from Europe and is making progress on lifting steel tariffs in North America.

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US Stock Indexes Extend Winning Streak to 3rd Day
Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street for the third straight day Thursday, led by solid gains in technology companies and banks.

By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 16, 2019, at 5:00 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street for the third straight day Thursday, led by solid gains in technology companies and banks.

The latest gains extend the market's turnaround from the start of the week, when stocks nosedived as the trade conflict between the U.S. and China escalated, stoking investors' fears about the fallout for the global economy and corporate profits.

Traders have since been encouraged by signals that Washington and Beijing are still planning to continue negotiations. And they've found relief in reports indicating that the U.S. is backing away from raising tariffs on auto imports from Europe and is making progress on lifting steel tariffs in North America.

"While we've seen a heightened rhetoric between the U.S. administration and the Chinese, we haven't seen a significant global escalation at this point, so there's a little bit of a relief in that," said Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager for Private Wealth Management at U.S. Bank.

The S&P 500 index rose 25.36 points, or 0.9%, to 2,876.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 214.66 points, or 0.8%, to 25,862.68. The index was briefly up 309 points.

The Nasdaq composite gained 75.90 points, or 1%, to 7,898.05. The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks picked up 8.97 points, or 0.6%, to 1,557.24.

Major stock indexes in Europe finished higher.

The S&P 500 is now up 2.3% from its close on Monday, when the benchmark index slumped after China issued retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, ratcheting up tensions between the two largest economies in the world.

The market has still not recovered all its losses since early last week, when President Donald Trump turned up the heat in the trade war by threatening to hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10% to 25%. The S&P 500 is still down about 1.9% from its close on May 6.

The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq are still on track to end the week with losses, even after the three-day winning streak.

The Trump administration raised tariffs last Friday and spelled out plans to target the $300 billion worth of Chinese imports that aren't already facing 25% taxes. The escalation covers everything from sneakers to toasters to billiard balls. The Chinese have retaliated by imposing tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. imports.

The escalation in trade tensions surprised investors who had been expecting a resolution. That confidence was a key component of the stock market's sharp gains so far this year.

Stocks have been choppy the last two weeks as traders worried over the implications the escalating trade dispute could have for markets. Negotiations between the two countries are expected to resume in Beijing soon. And Trump has said that he expects to meet Xi in late June at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

The market will likely remain volatile until investors can get a better sense of how the U.S. and China will resolve their trade dispute, said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab.

"Clearly, the market is at the mercy of what we're hearing on trade," she said.

Technology stocks, health care companies and banks accounted for much of the market's broad gains Thursday.

Cisco rose the most in the S&P 500, vaulting 6.7% after the technology company beat Wall Street's fiscal third quarter earnings forecasts. The maker of gear that connects computers also issued a solid forecast for the current quarter.

Not all technology sector stocks had a good day. Chipmakers slumped a day after the Trump administration labeled Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei a security risk and imposed export curbs on U.S. technology sales to the company. The move hurts U.S. chipmakers, which sell products to Huawei, which is the biggest global maker of switching equipment for phone companies.

"Those supply chains are being impacted," Wiegand said.

The S&P Semiconductor and Semiconductor Equipment index closed 1.6% lower. Several chipmakers also fell. Qorvo tumbled 7.1%, Micron Technology lost 2.9% and Qualcomm dropped 4%.

Banks and other financial services companies got a boost from higher bond yields, which allow them to charge higher interest rates on loans.

JPMorgan Chase rose 1.3%, American Express added 1.9% and Bank of America gained 1.1%

The yield on the 10 year Treasury rose to 2.39% from 2.38% late Wednesday.

The higher yields followed a Commerce Department report showing that U.S. home construction rose faster than expected by economists in April.

The solid report follows a series of weak economic reports on Wednesday that shoved bond yields sharply lower and weighed down the entire financial sector.

The positive home construction data also gave homebuilder stocks a lift. Taylor Morrison Home climbed 2.4% and KB Home added 2.2%.

Investors also bid up shares in Walmart, after the retail giant reported a surge in a key sales measure, driven by a growing grocery sales business. The company also said online sales rose 37%.

The world's largest retailer also beat Wall Street's profit forecasts for the first quarter. The company has been working to get more people into its stores and use its online shopping service. It recently launched next-day delivery as it faces tougher competition from other retailers and Amazon. The stock closed with a 1.4% gain.

Energy futures finished higher. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.4% to settle at $62.87 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, closed 1.2% higher at $72.62 per barrel.

Wholesale gasoline climbed 2.4% to $2.06 per gallon. Heating oil gained 1.8% to $2.12 per gallon. Natural gas added 1.5% to $2.64 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell 0.9% to $1,286.20 per ounce, silver dropped 1.8% to $14.54 per ounce and copper gained 0.2% to $2.75 per pound.

The dollar rose to 109.87 Japanese yen from 109.54 yen on Wednesday. The euro weakened to $1.1172 from $1.1204.
 
Stocks fell broadly on Wall Street Friday as investor jitters over the heated trade war between the world's two biggest economies overshadowed encouraging developments in conflicts between the U.S. and other key trading partners.

The sell-off gained strength in the last hour of trading, handing the benchmark S&P 500 index its second straight weekly loss.

News that the U.S. reached a deal with Canada and Mexico to scrap tariffs imposed by the Trump administration last year on imported steel and aluminum failed to cheer up investors. Nor did word earlier in the day that President Donald Trump has delayed for six months a decision on taxing imported cars and auto parts as trade negotiations continue with the European Union and Japan.

Over the last week, the S&P 500 followed up its second worst day of the year with three straight gains, only to falter Friday.

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Wobbly Week for US Stocks; 2nd Weekly Drop for S&P 500
Stocks fell broadly on Wall Street Friday as investor jitters over the heated trade war between the world's two biggest economies overshadowed encouraging developments in conflicts pitting the U.S. against other key trading partners.

By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 17, 2019, at 5:01 p.m.

By STAN CHOE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Stocks fell broadly on Wall Street Friday as investor jitters over the heated trade war between the world's two biggest economies overshadowed encouraging developments in conflicts between the U.S. and other key trading partners.

The sell-off gained strength in the last hour of trading, handing the benchmark S&P 500 index its second straight weekly loss.

News that the U.S. reached a deal with Canada and Mexico to scrap tariffs imposed by the Trump administration last year on imported steel and aluminum failed to cheer up investors. Nor did word earlier in the day that President Donald Trump has delayed for six months a decision on taxing imported cars and auto parts as trade negotiations continue with the European Union and Japan.

Those developments took a back seat to growing uncertainty over how Washington and Beijing will resolve their costly trade dispute, which has escalated the past two weeks. On Friday, published reports noted that Chinese state media was sending signals that appeared to dim the prospects for progress in the next round of negotiations.

"You had the good news in the delay in the auto tariffs, but the bad news is it's going to be a long slog with high tariffs on China," said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager with Globalt Investments.

The S&P 500 fell 16.79 points, or 0.6%, to 2,859.53. Earlier in the day, it had been down as much as 0.8% and up as much as 0.3%. After all its tumbling around the last two weeks, the index remains 2.9% below the record it set last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 98.68 points, or 0.4%, to 25,764. It slid 204 points earlier in the day. The Nasdaq composite dropped 81.76, or 1%, to 7,816.28. The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks gave up 21.48 points, or 1.4%, to 1,535.76.

Major European indexes closed broadly lower.

Over the last week, the S&P 500 followed up its second worst day of the year with three straight gains, only to falter Friday.

Escalating tensions between the world's largest economies have upended the calm that dominated markets earlier this year, when a trade agreement seemed to be in the works. The S&P 500 has twice dropped by at least 1.5% in the last two weeks, as many times as it had in the first four months of the year.

Market swings within the course of a single day have become common in recent weeks as investors react to developments in the United States' trade disputes with other countries, primarily China. Trump made good on a threat to raise tariffs on Chinese-made products, and China retaliated with tariffs of its own. The threats were interspersed with some signs of reconciliation.

While the Trump administration has been pressing for change in trade terms with the European Union, Japan, Canada and Mexico, the market has remained focused mainly on the conflict between the U.S. and China, which has been getting more heated.

The Trump administration has issued an executive order aimed at banning Huawei equipment from U.S. networks. Another sanction that subjects the Chinese telecommunications giant to strict export controls took effect on Thursday. China has threatened to retaliate. It remains to be seen how the move will affect trade negotiations, which are expected to continue.

"The trade issue could still get worse before it gets better, but our view remains that a deal will ultimately be reached to resolve the issue given the economic (and in Trump's case political) damage that would be caused if a deal is not reached," Shane Oliver of AMP Capital said in a commentary.

Technology and industrial stocks took some of the heaviest losses Friday. Utilities eked out a slight gain. Small company stocks fell more than the rest of the market.

Deere was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500 after the tractor maker cut its profit forecast for the year, citing slower sales from farmers worried about exports, among other factors. The stock slid 7.7%.

The U.S. crackdown on Huawei Technologies continued to weigh on chipmakers that supply the Chinese telecom company. Qorvo fell 6.1%, Skyworks Solutions dropped 4.8% and Micron Technology gave up 3.4%.

Pinterest plunged after the technology company reported a larger loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Shares of the digital pinboard company, which began trading last month, dropped 13.5%.

A report showing that U.S. shoppers remain more confident than economists expected helped spur a brief midmorning rally. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell as low as 2.36% Friday morning from 2.40% late Thursday. It recovered to 2.39%.

Energy futures finished lower. Benchmark U.S. crude slipped 0.2% to settle at $62.76 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, closed 0.6% lower at $72.21 per barrel.

Wholesale gasoline dropped 0.7% to $2.05 per gallon. Heating oil fell 1.3% to $2.10 per gallon. Natural gas lost 0.3% to $2.63 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold slid 0.8% to $1,275.70 per ounce, silver dropped 1% to $14.39 per ounce and copper gave up 0.3% to $2.74 per pound.

The dollar rose to 110.11 Japanese yen from 109.87 yen on Thursday. The euro weakened to $1.1160 from $1.1172.

9195
 
Chipmakers and other technology companies pulled U.S. stocks lower Monday, extending the market's losses into another week.

The U.S. decision to ban technology sales to China's Huawei hammered the tech sector, particularly chipmakers. About one-third of Huawei's suppliers are American chipmakers and investors are worried that the action against Huawei could crimp sales for companies with revenue heavily tied to China.

Apple also skidded after an analyst warned that the iPhone maker's growth prospects could dim as the U.S. and China continue to spar over trade.

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Stocks Fall as Huawei Ban Prompts Sell-Off in Chipmakers
Chipmakers and other technology companies pulled U.S. stocks lower Monday, extending the market's losses into another week.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 20, 2019, at 5:27 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Chipmakers and other technology companies pulled U.S. stocks lower Monday, extending the market's losses into another week.

The U.S. decision to ban technology sales to China's Huawei hammered the tech sector, particularly chipmakers. About one-third of Huawei's suppliers are American chipmakers and investors are worried that the action against Huawei could crimp sales for companies with revenue heavily tied to China.

Apple also skidded after an analyst warned that the iPhone maker's growth prospects could dim as the U.S. and China continue to spar over trade.

The Huawei ban is adding more anxiety to a market worried about further escalations in the trade war between the U.S. and China. Both sides have recently gone back and forth raising additional tariffs on each other's goods. The uncertainty has put a dent in investor confidence over how Washington and Beijing will resolve their dispute, pulling stocks lower the last two weeks.

"The news that has filtered out of the (Trump) administration is that talks have stalled," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. "Nonetheless, the market has held up fairly well given the desire by the market to see a deal consummated."

The S&P 500 has fallen 3.6% so far this month, taking a bit of the shine off a stellar start to the year. The index is still up 13.3% year to date.

On Monday, the S&P 500 lost 19.30 points, or 0.7%, to 2,840.23.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 84.10 points, or 0.3%, to 25,679.90. Apple was the biggest drag on the Dow.

The technology heavy Nasdaq composite slid 113.91 points, or 1.5%, to 7,702.38. The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks gave up 10.80 points, or 0.7%, to 1,524.96.

Major stock indexes in Europe closed broadly lower.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.42% from 2.39% late Friday.

Chipmakers led the way lower Monday as traders weighed the implications from the U.S. ban on technology sales to Huawei.

The U.S. government says that Chinese suppliers, including Huawei and its smaller rival, ZTE Corp., pose an espionage threat because they are beholden to China's ruling Communist Party.

Qualcomm, which gets about 65% of its revenue from China, slumped 6%. Broadcom, which gets nearly half of its revenue from China, also fell 6%. Intel dropped 3% and Xilinx slid 3.6%. An S&P index that measures the performance of chip and chip equipment makers fell nearly 4%.

Apple fell 3.1% after analysts at HSBC cut their price target on the stock, citing renewed risk in the company's growth prospects in China and the potential impact from tariffs. HSBC noted that Apple company could be forced to raise prices, which could hurt demand.

Other technology companies also took losses. Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, slid 2.1% after it indicated that it would have to cut some features on Huawei smartphones. Other communications stocks also fell. Facebook dropped 1.4% and Comcast gave up 1.7%.

American Airlines had the steepest decline among major airlines after Morgan Stanley warned that it faces higher labor costs on top of higher fuel costs. The stock slid 2.5%.

Banks, utilities and energy companies eked out gains.

Traders bid up shares in T-Mobile and Sprint, betting that the telecom companies could be closer to completing their $26.5 billion merger.

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said Monday he plans to recommend approval of the deal. The full commission must still vote, and the Justice Department must also clear the deal.

T-Mobile climbed 3.9% and Sprint surged 18.8%.

Tesla fell 2.7% after an analyst at WedBush said there seems to be mixed signals on demand for the electric car maker's Model 3, which could make it harder for the company to turn a profit in the next couple of quarters and beyond.

In the client note Monday, Daniel Ives kept his "Neutral" rating on the stock, but lowered his price target to $230 from $275.

Tesla shares are down 50 percent since September. The company lost $702.1 million in the first quarter, among its worst quarters in two years, as sales tumbled 31%. CEO Elon Musk predicted another loss in the second quarter but said Tesla would be profitable again by the third quarter.

Companies are nearing the end of the latest earnings season. The results have not been as bad as Wall Street feared, with profit in the broad S&P 500 index contracting less than 1%. Home repair and supplies behemoth Home Depot will report its quarterly results Tuesday and retail giant Target will report results Wednesday.

Energy futures finished mixed. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 0.5% to settle at $63.10 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, closed 0.3% lower at $71.97 per barrel.

Wholesale gasoline dropped 1.8% to $2.01 per gallon. Heating oil fell 1% to $2.07 per gallon. Natural gas gained 1.6% to $2.67 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold inched 0.1% higher to $1,277.30 per ounce, silver added 0.4% to $14.45 per ounce and copper gave up 0.5% to $2.73 per pound.

The dollar fell to 109.96 Japanese yen from 110.11 yen on Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1168 from $1.1160.
 
Technology companies helped power stocks broadly higher on Wall Street Tuesday, snapping the market's two-day losing streak.

The rally followed the U.S. government's decision to temporarily ease off proposed restrictions on technology sales to Chinese companies. The news gave a boost to technology sector stocks, which took steep losses a day earlier when the Trump administration announced curbs on technology sales, aimed primarily at Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei.

About one-third of that company's suppliers are American chipmakers and the move would crimp sales for companies including Qualcomm and Broadcom. Both companies posted gains Tuesday, along with other chipmakers.

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Tech Rebound Powers US Stocks Higher, Snaps 2-Day S&P Slump
Technology companies helped power stocks broadly higher on Wall Street Tuesday, snapping the market's two-day losing streak.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 21, 2019, at 4:49 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Technology companies helped power stocks broadly higher on Wall Street Tuesday, snapping the market's two-day losing streak.

The rally followed the U.S. government's decision to temporarily ease off proposed restrictions on technology sales to Chinese companies. The news gave a boost to technology sector stocks, which took steep losses a day earlier when the Trump administration announced curbs on technology sales, aimed primarily at Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei.

About one-third of that company's suppliers are American chipmakers and the move would crimp sales for companies including Qualcomm and Broadcom. Both companies posted gains Tuesday, along with other chipmakers.

The U.S. government's decision to issue a 90-day grace period on technology sales to Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese companies also relieved worries on Wall Street about yet another escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

"I'm a bit surprised that the bounce back has been as strong as it has been," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading & derivatives at Charles Schwab. "It speaks to the fact that we're still in a bull market and, in general, the economics are still pretty solid, and the markets are happy to move up on any sort of positive news, especially if it looks constructive toward trade."

The S&P 500 index rose 24.13 points, or 0.9%, to 2,864.36. The Dow gained 197.43 points, or 0.8%, to 25,877.33.

The technology heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 83.35 points, or 1.1%, to 7,785.72, erasing a good chunk of Monday's losses. The Russell 2000 index of small companies picked up 20.28 points, or 1.3%, to 1,545.25.

Major stock indexes in Europe rose. Bond prices fell, boosting the yield on the 10-year Treasury to 2.43% from 2.41% late Monday.

Heightened tensions over trade have stuck the market in a rut for the last two weeks — the S&P 500 is down 2.8% for May, although the benchmark index still shows a gain of 14.3% for the year.

The trend is a change from the relative calm that dominated markets earlier this year, when a trade agreement seemed to be in the works. The S&P 500 has twice dropped by at least 1.5% this month, as many times as it had in the first four months of the year.

"The trade negotiation with China is pretty much the big elephant in the room and continues to be," Frederick said. "Which is why we're going to continue to see above average volatility like we've seen for the last two weeks, and it's a kind of treacherous spot for people to be in right now."

The dispute between Washington and Beijing grew more heated the last two weeks after the Trump administration made good on a threat to raise tariffs on Chinese-made products and China retaliated with tariffs of its own.

The U.S. government's restrictions on technology sales to Huawei added more anxiety for traders already worried about further escalations in the trade dispute.

But the temporary delay on the restriction of sales to Huawei announced Tuesday, as well as the government saying that the 90-day grace period could be renewed, appeared to alleviate some of those concerns.

The rally particularly benefited chipmakers, which had slumped on Monday.

Intel rose 2.1% and Texas Instruments added 2.2%. Broadcom, which gets about half of its revenue from China, gained 1%. Qualcomm, which gets more than half of its revenue from China, rose 1.5%.

Technology stocks, especially chipmakers, have already been under increased pressure because of the ongoing trade war. The latest move to restrict some technology sales could cut into key revenue sources.

Apple rebounded 1.9% after falling a day earlier. Health care, financial and industrial stocks also helped drive the market higher Tuesday. Anthem climbed 4%, Wells Fargo added 1.9% and Boeing gained 1.7%. Household goods makers lagged. Tyson Foods slid 1.5%.

Gains in consumer-oriented stocks were held back by disappointing quarterly financial results from a couple of big department store chains.

J.C. Penney slid 7% after it reported declining sales and a surprisingly wide loss. The retailer attributed part of the weak quarter to its no longer selling major appliances and furniture.

Kohl's plunged 12.3% after its results fell short of forecasts amid slumping sales. The company also cut its profit forecast for the year.

The latest corporate results nearly cap an earnings season that has been better than the severe earnings recession that Wall Street initially feared.

Energy futures finished mixed Tuesday. Benchmark U.S. crude slipped 0.2% to settle at $62.99 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, closed 0.3% higher at $72.18 per barrel.

Wholesale gasoline gained 0.5% to $2.02 per gallon. Heating oil rose 0.3% to $2.08 per gallon. Natural gas fell 2.2% to $2.61 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold slid 0.3% to $1,273.20 per ounce, silver dropped 0.2% to $14.41 per ounce and copper gave up 0.4% to $2.72 per pound.

The dollar rose to 110.63 Japanese yen from 109.96 yen on Monday. The euro weakened to $1.1158 from $1.1168.
 
Stocks closed lower on Wall Street Wednesday, weighed down by a mixed batch of corporate earnings from big retailers and lingering uncertainty over the trade spat between the U.S. and China.

Lowe's and Nordstrom were among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500 after the retailers reported quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Target bucked the trend, surging after its latest results handily topped analysts' forecasts.

Chipmakers and other technology stocks also pulled the market lower, continuing a pattern of volatile trading as investors react to developments in the U.S. and China's trade dispute. Energy stocks also took losses, falling along with the price of crude oil. Small company stocks declined more than the rest of the market.

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US Stocks Fall on Mixed Earnings, Trade Tensions; Oil Slumps
U.S. stocks closed lower Wednesday, weighed down by mixed corporate earnings from big retailers and uncertainty over the trade spat between the U.S. and China.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 22, 2019, at 5:13 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Stocks closed lower on Wall Street Wednesday, weighed down by a mixed batch of corporate earnings from big retailers and lingering uncertainty over the trade spat between the U.S. and China.

Lowe's and Nordstrom were among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500 after the retailers reported quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Target bucked the trend, surging after its latest results handily topped analysts' forecasts.

Chipmakers and other technology stocks also pulled the market lower, continuing a pattern of volatile trading as investors react to developments in the U.S. and China's trade dispute. Energy stocks also took losses, falling along with the price of crude oil. Small company stocks declined more than the rest of the market.

The sell-off outweighed gains by health care companies, household goods makers and other sectors, reversing some of the market's gains from a day earlier.

"There's just so much uncertainty, it's really hard for anybody to frame how it's going to play out," said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior markets strategist at Voya Investment Management.

The S&P 500 index fell 8.09 points, or 0.3%, to 2,856.27. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 100.72 points, or 0.4%, to 25,776.61. The Nasdaq composite slid 34.88 points, or 0.5%, to 7,750.84.

The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks gave up 13.62 points, or 0.9%, to 1,531.63.

Major stock indexes in Europe closed mixed.

Bond prices rose, dragging the yield on the 10-year Treasury to 2.38% from 2.42% late Tuesday.

Heightened tensions over trade have stuck the market in a rut for the last two weeks. The major U.S. indexes are all down more than 3% in May, although they are still holding on to gains for the year between 10% and 16%.

The turbulent stretch of trading this month has been a change from the relative calm that dominated markets earlier this year, when a trade agreement appeared in the works.

The U.S. has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports and is planning to target another $300 billion, a move that would cover everything China ships to the U.S. China, meanwhile, has retaliated against $110 billion in U.S. products.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer wrapped up an 11th round of talks with Chinese counterparts earlier this month without reaching an agreement. More talks have yet to be scheduled.

The trade war continues to be a wild card hanging over the market, said Jason Pride, chief investment officer of private wealth for Glenmede. The economy is in the late stages of a decade-long expansion and investors are questioning how much longer it can continue.

"Everybody is looking over their shoulders trying to figure out when this cycle will end," he said.

Corporate earnings and federal monetary policy have ceased to be major concerns, Pride said. That leaves trade as the most closely watched and currently volatile issue.

Meanwhile, investors appeared to shrug off the minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting of policymakers.

The central bank released the minutes Wednesday afternoon, but the market barely budged. The minutes show some Fed officials still thought more interest rate increases might be needed to keep low unemployment from triggering unwanted inflation. Financial markets have been hoping that the Fed will start cutting rates soon to bolster growth further.

At its last meeting, the Fed kept its key policy rate unchanged in a range of 2.25% to 2.5%, where it's been since the Fed hiked rates for a fourth time last year.

Qualcomm and Apple drove the slide in technology stocks Wednesday. Qualcomm plunged 10.9% following a federal judge's ruling against the chipmaker in an antitrust case. Several other chipmakers also fell. Micron Technology fell 2.6%, Intel dropped 1% and Broadcom slid 2.2%.

Tech stocks have swung between gains and losses this week after the U.S. proposed restrictions on technology sales to Chinese companies and then granted a 90-day grace period.

Investors hammered Lowe's after the home improvement retailer slashed its outlook for the year following a weak first quarter. The company's shares tumbled 11.8%, its biggest single-day decline in more than 28 years.

The latest results come a day after rival Home Depot reported solid first quarter financial results.

Nordstrom also had a bad day, skidding 9.2% a day after the department store chain reported disappointing financial results. The company also cut its annual sales forecast.

In contrast, Target had its best day since late 2017 after a surge in online sales lifted its first quarter profit well above Wall Street forecasts. The retailer has been aggressively expanding its online shopping options, including same-day services and in-store pickups. Its shares vaulted 7.8%.

Energy stocks also fell after energy futures closed broadly lower. Halliburton lost 3.3% and Schlumberger slid 2.9%.

Energy futures finished lower Wednesday. Benchmark U.S. crude fell after the U.S. Energy Department reported a large increase in crude supplies for last week. It dropped 2.7%, settling at $61.42 per barrel.

Brent crude, the international standard, closed 1.6% lower at $70.99 per barrel.

Wholesale gasoline slid 1.4% to $1.99 per gallon. Heating oil gave up 1.5% to $2.05 per gallon. Natural gas fell 2.7% to $2.54 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold inched up 0.1% to $1,274.20 per ounce, silver added 0.3% to $14.45 per ounce and copper slid 1.4% to $2.69 per pound.

The dollar fell to 110.29 Japanese yen from 110.63 yen on Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1160 from $1.1158.
 
DOW potential triple top, Russell 2000 looking sick and SP500 perhaps double top. I think the market is maybe realizing the corrupt delusional orange dotard really is going to do some real damage.
 
Heightened worries that the U.S. and China are headed for a long standoff in their costly trade dispute put investors in a selling mood Thursday.

Stocks ended sharply lower on Wall Street in a broad sell-off that left the benchmark S&P 500 index on track for its third straight weekly loss and had the Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 400 points until late afternoon.

Traders sought safety in the bond market, driving bond prices higher, which pulled the yield on the 10-year Treasury to 2.31%, the lowest level in more than a year.

The stock market has been highly volatile since Washington and Beijing escalated their dispute over trade earlier this month. Now, the two sides have broken off negotiations and appear set for a long standoff. Investors are concerned that a prolonged trade war could stunt economic growth and hurt corporate profits.

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US Stocks Skid on Worries of Prolonged Trade Standoff
Heightened worries that the U.S. and China are headed for a long standoff in their costly trade dispute put investors in a selling mood Thursday.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 23, 2019, at 5:07 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Heightened worries that the U.S. and China are headed for a long standoff in their costly trade dispute put investors in a selling mood Thursday.

Stocks ended sharply lower on Wall Street in a broad sell-off that left the benchmark S&P 500 index on track for its third straight weekly loss and had the Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 400 points until late afternoon.

Traders sought safety in the bond market, driving bond prices higher, which pulled the yield on the 10-year Treasury to 2.31%, the lowest level in more than a year.

The stock market has been highly volatile since Washington and Beijing escalated their dispute over trade earlier this month. Now, the two sides have broken off negotiations and appear set for a long standoff. Investors are concerned that a prolonged trade war could stunt economic growth and hurt corporate profits.

"Markets are appreciating how far apart the two sides are and how messy the grand deal would be that both sides had led us to believe was coming very quickly," said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

The S&P 500 index fell 34.03 points, or 1.2%, to 2,822.24. The index was down 2.5% before the selling eased. The Dow lost 286.14 points, or 1.1%, to 25,490.47. At its lowest, the Dow slid 448 points.

The Nasdaq composite dropped 122.56 points, or 1.6%, to 7,628.28. The Russell 200 index of small company stocks gave up 30.25 points, or 2%, to 1,501.38.

Markets in Asia and Europe also saw steep losses.

The U.S. and China concluded their 11th round of trade talks earlier this month with no agreement. Instead, the U.S. moved to increase tariffs on Chinese goods, prompting China to reciprocate. The trade dispute escalated further after the U.S. proposed restrictions on technology sales to China, though it has temporarily backed off.

China is looking for ways to retaliate and has reached out for support from Russia and its neighbors in Asia. Both the U.S. and China have made overtures about continuing trade talks, but none are scheduled. That uncertainty has many traders nervous about how and when the trade dispute will be resolved.

"Now people are realizing how weighty the issue is and how many different aspects of it are just so intractable, where it's going to be difficult for the Chinese side to give in and it's going to be hard for the U.S. not to ask for some of these changes," Samana said.

The resumption of trade hostilities this month has interrupted a market rally that saw the S&P 500 wipe out the fourth quarter's sharp decline and hit a new high. The index is down 4.2% so far in May, though it's still sporting a gain of 12.6% for the year.

Trade-sensitive technology stocks led the market slide Thursday. Many tech companies do significant business in China, and the Trump administration's proposed restrictions on technology sales to Chinese companies hit their stocks hard.

Apple fell 1.7%, while chipmakers such as Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom and Nvidia each dropped by at least 3%. An S&P index that tracks the chip industry's performance has plunged about 15.2% so far this month amid the heightened trade tensions.

Banks also took heavy losses in the sell-off as bond yields fell sharply. Lower yields mean lower interest rates on loans, which makes lending less profitable. JPMorgan dropped 2% and Bank of America slid 2.6%.

Exxon Mobil fell 2.3% and Chevron gave up 2.2%, part of a broad slump in energy sector stocks as the price of U.S. fell sharply. Benchmark U.S. crude plunged 5.7% to settle at $57.91 a barrel. It's down 7.8% for the week. Brent crude, the international standard, closed 4.5% lower at $67.76 per barrel.

Investors sent shares in utilities and real estate companies higher. Those sectors are considered less risky, which makes them more attractive when traders are concerned about volatility and a slowdown in economic growth. Eversource Energy and SBA Communications, which owns wireless communication towers, each gained 1.5%.

Thursday wasn't all about selling on Wall Street.

Traders bid shares in L Brands 12.8% higher after the owner of the Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works chains blew away Wall Street's first quarter earnings forecasts.

Avon shares rose 3.2% after Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura announced that it is buying the beauty products company for $3.7 billion in stock. The deal would create the world's fourth-largest group of beauty products. Natura also currently owns retail stores like The Body Shop.

In other commodities trading Thursday, wholesale gasoline slid 3.9% to $1.91 per gallon. Heating oil lost 4.2% to $1.96 per gallon. Natural gas rose 1.4% to $2.58 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold climbed 0.9% to $1,285.40 per ounce, silver jumped 1.1% to $14.61 per ounce and copper added 0.1% to $2.68 per pound.

The dollar fell to 109.49 Japanese yen from 110.29 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1183 from $1.1160.
 
three-day holiday weekend. U.S. stock markets will be closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

Stocks on Wall Street notched modest gains Friday, erasing some of the market's steep losses from a day earlier.

The upbeat finish to a turbulent week still left the market with its third straight weekly loss.

Stocks swung between gains and losses all week as investors weighed the prospect of a prolonged trade war between the U.S. and China. Trading has been volatile since the dispute escalated earlier this month, with both sides raising tariffs on each other's goods.

Financial companies led the buying Friday as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note reversed part of a steep slide a day earlier. Rising yields boost interest rates on loans, which makes lending more profitable.

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https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...reat-on-fears-china-us-trade-row-might-spread

US Stocks Rebound, but S&P 500 Ends With 3rd Weekly Loss
Stocks on Wall Street notched modest gains Friday, erasing some of the market's steep losses from a day earlier.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 24, 2019, at 5:07 p.m

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Stocks on Wall Street notched modest gains Friday, erasing some of the market's steep losses from a day earlier.

The upbeat finish to a turbulent week still left the market with its third straight weekly loss.

Stocks swung between gains and losses all week as investors weighed the prospect of a prolonged trade war between the U.S. and China. Trading has been volatile since the dispute escalated earlier this month, with both sides raising tariffs on each other's goods.

Financial companies led the buying Friday as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note reversed part of a steep slide a day earlier. Rising yields boost interest rates on loans, which makes lending more profitable.

The modest gains snapped a two-day losing streak for the S&P 500 as investors saw opportunity after the previous days' wave of selling.

"Today you're just seeing a rebound, really almost across the board, so that tells you yesterday everything was just being sold with no rhyme or reason," said Ben Phillips, chief investment officer at EventShares.

The S&P 500 rose 3.82 points, or 0.1%, to 2,826.06. The benchmark index ended the week with a 2.3% loss.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 95.22 points, or 0.4%, to 25,585.69. The Nasdaq composite added 8.72 points, or 0.1%, to 7,637.01.

Small company stocks fared better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index climbed 12.73 points, or 0.9%, to 1,514.11.

Major stock indexes in Europe finished broadly higher.

The market's modest rebound came ahead of a three-day holiday weekend. U.S. stock markets will be closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

The resumption of trade hostilities this month has interrupted a market rally that saw the S&P 500 recoup the fourth quarter's sharp loss and hit a new high. The index is down 4.1% so far in May, though it's still sporting a gain of 12.7% for the year.

The U.S. and China concluded their 11th round of trade talks earlier this month with no agreement. Instead, the U.S. moved to increase tariffs on Chinese goods, prompting China to reciprocate. The trade dispute escalated further after the U.S. proposed restrictions on technology sales to China, though it has temporarily backed off.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he expects to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at a summit next month in Japan. Both sides have expressed a willingness to resume negotiations, while at the same time ratcheting up antagonistic rhetoric, leaving investors confused about what happens next.

Investors will likely be stuck dealing with a volatile market until the outcome in the trade dispute becomes clear. As such, investors are starting to realize that the conflict could drag on much longer than initially anticipated, said Craig Birk, chief investment officer at Personal Capital.

"The lesson learned lately is that nobody knows," Birk added.

Technology companies have borne the brunt of the market's monthlong downturn as they face the possibility of restricted sales to Chinese companies. The sector eked out a tiny gain Friday. HP rose 4.4% and Intuit climbed 6.7% after reporting solid profits and issuing a surprisingly good forecast.

Financial stocks led the gainers. Capital One Financial rose 1.7% and Bank of America finished 1.5% higher.

Health care companies also notched gains. Medtronic picked up 1.5%.

Consumer staples, which include beverage and packaged food makers, declined the most. Constellation Brands slid 3.7%.

Utilities also fell as traders shifted their money into riskier holdings. That marked a reversal from a day earlier, when investors bought up utilities, bonds and other safe-play holdings. The yield on the 10 year Treasury rose to 2.32% after slipping to 2.29% late Thursday, its lowest level in more than a year.

Shares in Tesla slumped 2.5%. A series of analyst notes have questioned demand for the troubled electric automaker's cars. Tesla stock has lost ground for seven of the last eight trading days and has surrendered almost 43 percent of its value since the start of the year.

A couple of retail stocks had big moves in opposite directions Friday.

Foot Locker tumbled 16%, erasing all its gains for the year. The shoe store reported disappointing first quarter financial results and trimmed its profit forecast.

Hibbett Sports surged 20.9% after the sporting goods retailer blew past Wall Street's profit expectations and raised its forecast for the year.

Energy futures ended broadly higher, recovering some of their steep losses from a day earlier.

Benchmark U.S. crude climbed 1.7% to settle at $58.63 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, closed 1.4% lower at $68.69 per barrel.

Wholesale gasoline added 1.1% to $1.93 per gallon. Heating oil gained 0.5% to $1.97 per gallon. Natural gas rose 0.8% to $2.60 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell 0.1% to $1,283.60 per ounce, silver slid 0.4% to $14.56 per ounce and copper added 0.7% to $2.70 per pound.

The dollar fell to 109.33 Japanese yen from 109.49 yen on Thursday. The euro strengthened to $1.1209 from $1.1183.

9607
 
Markets in the United States were also closed, for the Memorial Day holiday.

Britain's exchange remained closed for a bank holiday.

Stocks rose in Europe on Monday, after a mixed day in Asia, as pro-EU forces retained a majority in the 28-nation bloc's parliament despite the rise of nationalist parties in a region-wide vote

Markets Closed
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Markets Open
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https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...mixed-as-markets-await-news-on-china-us-trade

World Stocks Rise as EU Vote Avoids Worst Case Scenarios
Stocks mostly rose in Europe as pro-EU forces retained a majority in the 28-nation bloc's parliament despite the rise of nationalist parties in a region-wide vote.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 27, 2019, at 11:55 a.m.

By ELAINE KURTENBACH, AP Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks rose in Europe on Monday, after a mixed day in Asia, as pro-EU forces retained a majority in the 28-nation bloc's parliament despite the rise of nationalist parties in a region-wide vote.

Germany's DAX climbed 0.5% to close at 12,071.18, while the CAC 40 in France added 0.4% to 5,336.19 and Britain's exchange remained closed for a bank holiday. Markets in the United States were also closed, for the Memorial Day holiday.

In the European election, far right and populist parties were among the biggest winners, as voters voiced concerns over immigration and security. Environmentalist parties also made strong gains, especially in Germany, at the expense of center-right and center-left groups that have dominated the EU. Despite their losses, pro-EU parties retained a majority in the European parliament, easing concerns of a worst-case scenario where nationalist parties foil policies for further EU integration.

"The deeply divided right-wingers will remain far away from wielding any significant power at the European level. They will not be able to block significant decisions," said Holger Schmieding, economist at Berenberg bank.

Corporate news also supported markets. Shares in Fiat Chrysler and Renault jumped over 10% each after the Italian-American company on Monday proposed a merger with the French rival. The deal would create the world's third-biggest automaker and save billions needed to invest in the race to make new electric and autonomous vehicles. Renault said it would study the offer and the French government, a key shareholder, sounded open to a deal.

Earlier, in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index advanced 0.3% to 21,182.58 after visiting President Donald Trump said he expects a deal with Tokyo on trade after a Japanese election in July.

Trump's administration has been seeking a bilateral trade deal with Japan after withdrawing from the Pacific Rim trading block, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The two sides are working to close gaps over trade in farm products and autos and auto parts.

"We are working on the imbalance on the trade as there has been a tremendous imbalance so that we are working on that. And I am sure that will work out over a period of the time," Trump said. He said via Twitter that he expected an agreement in August.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.2% to 27,288.09 and the Kospi in South Korea edged 0.1% to 2,044.21. The S&P ASX 200 in Australia edged 4.1 points lower to 6,451.90.

The Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.4% to 2,892.38 and India's Sensex added 0.8% to 39,752.63.

Share benchmarks have become more volatile as investors weigh the prospect of a prolonged trade war between the U.S. and China.

The 11th round of U.S.-China trade talks ended with no agreement. Instead, the U.S. moved to increase tariffs on Chinese goods, prompting China to reciprocate. The trade dispute escalated further after the U.S. proposed restrictions on technology sales to China.

Trump said last week that he expects to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at a summit next month in Japan. Both sides have expressed a willingness to resume negotiations, while at the same time ratcheting up antagonistic rhetoric, leaving investors confused about what happens next.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 20 cents to $58.83 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 36 cents to $68.33 per barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 109.53 Japanese yen from 109.31 yen on Friday. The euro edge up to $1.1193 from $1.1190.
 
U.S. stocks fell broadly Tuesday as anxious investors shifted money into bonds, sending yields to their lowest level in nearly two years.

Rising bond prices, which pull yields lower, are typically a sign that traders feel jittery about long-term growth prospects and would rather put their money into safer holdings.

The yield on the benchmark 10 year Treasury fell to 2.26% Tuesday, the lowest level since September 2017. That put it below the 2.35% yield on the three-month Treasury bill.

When that kind of "inversion" in bond yields occurs, economists fear it may signal a recession within the coming year. It has happened multiple times so far this year.

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https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...-in-muted-trading-after-trumps-visit-to-japan

US Stocks, Bond Yield Slump, Signaling Market Jitters
U.S. stocks fell broadly Tuesday as anxious investors shifted money into bonds, sending yields to their lowest level in nearly two years.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 28, 2019, at 4:59 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

U.S. stocks fell broadly Tuesday as anxious investors shifted money into bonds, sending yields to their lowest level in nearly two years.

Rising bond prices, which pull yields lower, are typically a sign that traders feel jittery about long-term growth prospects and would rather put their money into safer holdings.

The yield on the benchmark 10 year Treasury fell to 2.26% Tuesday, the lowest level since September 2017. That put it below the 2.35% yield on the three-month Treasury bill.

When that kind of "inversion" in bond yields occurs, economists fear it may signal a recession within the coming year. It has happened multiple times so far this year.

Investors have been weighing a mix of encouraging and discouraging economic reports this year as they also keep an eye on unpredictable swings in the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China.

"If the bond market was saying that the economy is on OK footing then you wouldn't see yields fall like they are," said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. "In many respects, equities are waking up to what's happening in bonds."

The S&P 500 index fell 23.67 points, or 0.8%, to 2,802.39. The index had been up 0.5% earlier in the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 237.92 points, or 0.9%, to 25,347.77, after rising about 131 points earlier. The Nasdaq composite dropped 29.66 points, or 0.4%, to 7,607.35. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave up 10.09 points, or 0.7%, to 1,504.02.

Major stock indexes in Europe also declined.

U.S. stocks headed higher in the early going Tuesday as the market reopened after Monday's Memorial Day holiday closure. But indexes reversed course by midday and never recovered.

Trading has been choppy over the last several weeks as investors grapple with the possibility of a prolonged trade war between the U.S. and China. They escalated the dispute earlier this month by raising tariffs on each other.

The U.S. went even further and proposed a ban on technology sales to certain Chinese companies. That added even more volatility to technology stocks that are already sensitive to the ups and downs of trade negotiations.

The trade dispute has interrupted a market rally that saw the S&P 500 recoup the fourth quarter's sharp loss and hit a new high. The index is down 4.9% so far in May, though it's still up 11.8% for the year.

In a client note Tuesday, Morgan Stanley warned that the stock market faces a lot more volatility because of weak economic data and the trade war. It also cautioned that those factors are also increasing the risk that the U.S. economy could slide into a recession.

"This isn't just about the U.S. and China," said Brian Nick, chief investment strategist at Nuveen. "It's about everybody sensing there is something to brace for."

The drop in yields accelerated last week, but it has been happening gradually since late last year, when the 10 year Treasury yield peaked at 3.2%.

The slide in bond yields held back gains for banks and other financial companies. Falling yields lead to lower interest rates on loans, which makes lending less profitable. Goldman Sachs Group slid 1.8%.

Health care, consumer staples and industrial stocks also took heavy losses. UnitedHealth Group dropped 2.3%, Procter & Gamble slid 2.1% and United Rentals closed 3% lower.

Communications services stocks bucked the broader market slide. Video game publisher Activision Blizzard led the sector, climbing 2.9%.

Some stocks had a good day.

Traders bid up shares in Total System Services 4.8% higher following the announcement that the payments processor is being bought by Global Payments in a deal valued at $21.5 billion. The move is the third major acquisition in the payment technology sector this year. Global Payments shares lost 3%.

SeaWorld surged 16.6% after it announced a stock buyback and increased investment from a hedge fund.

Fiat Chrysler shares gave up an early gain, sliding 0.9% after the carmaker proposed a merger with France's Renault. A combination between the companies would create the world's third largest automaker and reshape the global industry. It would top General Motors' production and trail Volkswagen and Toyota.

First American Financial fell 6.3% because of a security lapse that exposed bank account numbers and other sensitive information. The real estate title company confirmed the lapse on Friday.

Energy futures ended mostly higher. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 0.9% to settle at $59.14 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was little changed at $70.11 per barrel.

Wholesale gasoline added 1.1% to $1.96 per gallon. Heating oil rose 1.1% to $1.99 per gallon. Natural gas fell 0.6% to $2.58 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell 0.5% to $1,277.10 per ounce, silver slid 1.6% to $14.32 per ounce and copper slipped 0.1% to $2.70 per pound.

The dollar fell to 109.48 Japanese yen from 109.54 yen on Monday. The euro weakened to $1.1165 from $1.1190.
 
Another round of selling gripped Wall Street on Wednesday as nervous investors fled health care, technology and other high-risk stocks in favor of the safety of bonds.

The broad sell-off, which lost some momentum in the last hour of trading, keeps the market on track for its fourth consecutive weekly loss and its first monthly drop this year.

The latest market slide comes as investors worry that the trade war between the U.S. and China will derail global economic and corporate profit growth as it drags on with no sign of a resolution.

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https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ian-stocks-retreat-as-china-us-jitters-set-in

US Stocks Close Lower, on Track for 1st Monthly Loss of 2019
Another round of selling gripped Wall Street on Wednesday as nervous investors fled health care, technology and other high-risk stocks in favor of the safety of bonds.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content May 29, 2019, at 4:57 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Another round of selling gripped Wall Street on Wednesday as nervous investors fled health care, technology and other high-risk stocks in favor of the safety of bonds.

The broad sell-off, which lost some momentum in the last hour of trading, keeps the market on track for its fourth consecutive weekly loss and its first monthly drop this year.

The latest market slide comes as investors worry that the trade war between the U.S. and China will derail global economic and corporate profit growth as it drags on with no sign of a resolution.

"This is just a bit of a retrenchment with this realization that this trade issue may take longer to resolve that we previously thought," said Jeff Kravetz, regional investment director for U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "That's giving concern that there is going to be lower economic growth going forward."

The S&P 500 index fell 19.37 points, or 0.7%, to 2,783.02. The index had been down 1.3% earlier.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 221.36 points, or 0.9%, to 25,126.41. It had tumbled 409 points.

The Nasdaq composite slid 60.04 points, or 0.8%, to 7,547.31. The Russell 2000 index of small companies dropped 14.07 points, or 0.9%, to 1,489.95.

Major stock indexes in Europe also fell.

With two more trading days left in May, the S&P 500 is heading for a loss of 5.5%. That would be its first monthly loss since December. The market has been heading steadily lower this month as prospects for the economy have dimmed and as traders got more worried about the lingering trade feud between Washington and Beijing.

In early May the U.S. and China concluded their 11th round of trade talks with no agreement. The U.S. then more than doubled duties on $200 billion in Chinese imports, and China responded by raising its own tariffs.

The market's monthlong slump follows a yearlong run for the S&P 500 that culminated in an all-time high on April 30. The benchmark index is still up around 11% for the year, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite is up more than 13%.

Investors are retrenching in an attempt to wait out the worsening trade situation between the U.S. and China as they face "tariff exhaustion", said JJ Kinahan, chief marketing strategist at TD Ameritrade.

China's recent threat to use its supply of rare earths as a weapon is a worrying escalation, he said. Rare earths are chemical elements that are crucial to many modern technologies, such as consumer electronics.

"What it shows to me is that there is a little bit of a worsening relationship here," he said. "They went pretty deep in the bag to throw out something that would hurt."

On Wednesday, traders continued to hammer technology stocks, which stand to suffer heavily in a prolonged trade war. Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices fell 3.2%.

Health care and communications companies also bore a big share of the losses. Johnson & Johnson slid 4.2% and Google parent Alphabet dropped 1.7%.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.26%, the lowest level in nearly two years. It fell as low as 2.18% during the day.

Lower bond yields are typically a sign that traders feel uneasy about long-term growth prospects and would rather put their money into safer holdings. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note is down 1 percentage point over the last six months, sending another strong signal that investors are concerned about weakening economic growth.

The 10-year Treasury note remained below the yield on the three-month Treasury bill. When that kind of "inversion" in bond yields occurs over an extended period of time, economists fear it may signal a recession within the coming year. It has happened multiple times so far this year.

The slide in bond yields, which make loans less profitable, continued to hurt banks and other financial stocks Wednesday. American Express fell 1%.

The wave of selling also snared many big retailers.

Abercrombie & Fitch plummeted 26.5% in heavy trading and Canada Goose, which makes luxury down coats, plunged 30.9% after both companies issued weak sales forecasts. Capri Holdings, which owns Versace and Michael Kors, slid 9.8% after its own forecast also disappointed investors.

Energy futures ended mostly lower. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 0.6% to settle at $58.81 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, closed 0.9% lower at $69.45 per barrel.

Wholesale gasoline slid 0.6% to $1.95 per gallon. Heating oil dropped 1.3% to $1.97 per gallon. Natural gas rose 2% to $2.63 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold gained 0.3% to $1,281 per ounce, silver added 0.6% to $14.41 per ounce and copper fell 1.2% to $2.66 per pound.

The dollar fell to 109.46 Japanese yen from 109.48 yen on Tuesday. The euro weakened to $1.1133 from $1.1165.
 

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