Dow Stages Massive Rebound on Mnuchin Comments
Mnuchin said trade talks between the U.S. and China were "constructive"
It was a wild day of trading, with the Dow down 358 points at its session low, before swinging to a gain by the close. Stocks were initially lower after President Donald Trump's threatened tariff hikes on $200 billion in Chinese goods went into effect, and after a Trump tweet fueled concerns about a lengthy trade dispute. However, the turnaround came after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said some progress was being made between the U.S. and China, calling today's trade talks "constructive." In addition, Trump said "conversations into the future will continue" between the countries. As such, the S&P and Nasdaq bounced back by the end of the day as well, though all three indexes suffered their steepest weekly losses of 2019.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Uber stock scored analyst love on its first day of trading. The China stock that jumped after an impressive earnings report. Plus, PBYI stock suffers its worst day in months; the "dead money" cybersecurity stock; and one ETF's miserable week.The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 25,942.37) tacked on 114 points, or 0.4%, in today's trading. Walmart (WMT) led the 23 gainers with a 2.4% pop, while Apple (AAPL) paced the six losers, down 1.4%. Home Depot (HD) finished flat. The index ended the week down 2.1%.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,881.40) was 10.7 points, or 0.4%, higher, but suffered a 2.2% weekly loss, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 7,916.94) inched 6.4 points, or 0.1%, higher, with a 3% loss for the week.
The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 16.04) dipped 3.06 points, or 16%, lower, but racked up a weekly gain of 24.4%.
5 Items on our Radar Today
Victoria's Secret parent L Brands issued a memo to its employees that the lingerie concern's annual fashion show might be leaving network television. The event, which has aired on ABC and CBS since 1995, saw miserable ratings this past December, with viewership dwindling in the past several years. L Brands' CEO said the brand will try and zone in on a "new kind of event," with no further specification. (CNBC)After metal shard contamination resulted in meat processing giant Tyson Foods recalling almost 12 million pounds of frozen chicken strips, a company exec said the poultry producer will be installing metal-detecting X-ray machines at its facilities.(MarketWatch)The pharma stock pummeled after earnings. Why Baird is calling this cybersecurity stock "dead money."This China ETF suffered its worst week in over a year.
Data courtesy of Trade-Alert
Gold Boosted By Safe-Haven Seekers
Oil inched lower today, amid concerns about a trade war's impact on demand. Oil for June delivery fell 4 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $61.66 per barrel -- down 0.5% for the week.
Gold enjoyed a second straight win, with investors finding solace in the precious metal amidst the tariff war. June-dated gold rose $2.20, or 0.2%, to end at $1,287.40 an ounce. For the week, gold added 0.5%.