Dow added 65, advancers over decliners about 2-1 & NAZ was off 2. The MLP index went up 1+ to the 341s & the REIT index was fractionally higher to the 408s. Junk bond funds barely budged in price & Treasuries inched higher. Oil rose a fraction in the 58s & gold went up 4 to 1511.
US & Chinese officials are meeting in DC for a 2nd day to prepare trade negotiations next month in the trade war that has cast a shadow on growth. But expectations have remained modest, with both sides indicating there is little too maneuver on the key sticking points over Beijing's industrial & technology policies. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that it remained unclear what China wanted & that "we will find out very, very shortly in the next couple of weeks." "What we need is to correct the big imbalances, not just the current trade deficit," Ross added. "It's more complicated than just buying a few more soybeans." In an unexpected twist, some members of the Chinese delegation will stay in the US to visit US farming regions next week. The 13th round of high-level negotiations is scheduled to take place in DC next month. Pres Trump said last week a deal would not happen unless it was a good & fair agreement for the US. “We cannot go back to a situation where [the U.S.] giving hundreds of billions of dollars to China becomes standard fare. Not going to happen,” he said before a crowd in North Carolina. In a gesture of goodwill, Trump recently made the decision to delay a new round of tariff increases on $250B of goods from China, which were scheduled to take effect on Oct 1 & the increases will take effect on Oct 15, instead. These increases will follow the new round of tariffs that went into effect on goods from both countries at the outset of Sep. The US implemented tariffs worth 15% on a host of goods from China, a decision that was met with countermeasures. China subsequently filed a complainty with the World Trade Organization (WTO), asking it to facilitate “consultations” with the US to reduce or end tariffs. The countries were close to striking a trade deal in the spring, but the Chinese ultimately decided not to move forward because of some of the demands the US was making. Since then there has been little progress toward reaching a comprehensive agreement.
US-China trade talks: Key sticking points on Day 2
The Federal Reserve is taking a meeting-by-meeting approach to setting interest rates and for now is not committed to a set course of action ahead, Vice Chair Richard Clarida said. "We're gonna take this meeting by meeting. We're not on a preset course," Clarida added. He spoke two days after the policymaking FOMC cut its benchmark interest rate by a qtr point to a target of 1.75-2%. It was the 2nd reduction of the year & came after the Fed had hiked rates 9 times, the most recent coming in Dec. Clarida used variations of the "meeting by meeting" theme several times as he sought to convey that committee members are basing their views on data as it comes in & will remain flexible. "Clearly the center of gravity on the committee is the second adjustment was appropriate," he said. "Going into October an beyond, we'll go one meeting at a time." This week's meeting was notable for the number of dissents on the rate vote. 3 members cast "no" votes, with 2 wanting the Fed to hold the line & one, St Louis Pres James Bullard, calling for an even more aggressive 50 basis point cut. The post-meeting statement again noted worries over a global economic slowdown & low inflation as justification for the cut. However, Clarida called the US "the best pupil in the class" when comparing growth to other countries. "I think a lot of other countries in the world would envy where we are now," he said. "I'm not surprised by the resilience, but we don't take it for granted, either."
Fed Vice Chair Clarida says the Fed will take interest rate policy 'meeting by meeting
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/GM?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
GM negotiations are moving forward & it looks like the strike may be settled soon. But China trade talks just keep plodding along. It's likely that very little will be accomplished in stock trading later today. The Dow is 220 below its recent record high.
Dow Jones Industrials
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 58.54 | +0.41 | +0.7% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,508.90 | +2.70 | +0.2% |
Stocks were closing in on record highs
after the Trade Representative said it was exempting more than 400
Chinese goods from tariffs. The announcement comes as US & Chinese
officials meet in DC for the 2nd day of trade talks, which
they hope will pave the way for higher-level meetings next month. All 3 of the major averages opened higher, with the Dow up 80 (0.3%). The S&P 500 & NAZ held similar gains. The New York Fed this AM injected another $75B into money markets thru a repo operation designed
to provide liquidity & keep its fed funds rate within its target
range of 1.75-2%. The central bank has injected
$278B into the overnight funding market after short-term rates
spiked as high as 10% earlier in the week. Overnight, China's central bank reduced its 1-year
loan prime rate to 4.2% from 4.25%. The Shanghai
Composite rose 0.2%, but lost 0.8% for the
week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was little changed, ending the week down 3.4%. In Europe, London's FTSE, Germany's DAX & France's CAC swung between gains & losses.
US & Chinese officials are meeting in DC for a 2nd day to prepare trade negotiations next month in the trade war that has cast a shadow on growth. But expectations have remained modest, with both sides indicating there is little too maneuver on the key sticking points over Beijing's industrial & technology policies. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that it remained unclear what China wanted & that "we will find out very, very shortly in the next couple of weeks." "What we need is to correct the big imbalances, not just the current trade deficit," Ross added. "It's more complicated than just buying a few more soybeans." In an unexpected twist, some members of the Chinese delegation will stay in the US to visit US farming regions next week. The 13th round of high-level negotiations is scheduled to take place in DC next month. Pres Trump said last week a deal would not happen unless it was a good & fair agreement for the US. “We cannot go back to a situation where [the U.S.] giving hundreds of billions of dollars to China becomes standard fare. Not going to happen,” he said before a crowd in North Carolina. In a gesture of goodwill, Trump recently made the decision to delay a new round of tariff increases on $250B of goods from China, which were scheduled to take effect on Oct 1 & the increases will take effect on Oct 15, instead. These increases will follow the new round of tariffs that went into effect on goods from both countries at the outset of Sep. The US implemented tariffs worth 15% on a host of goods from China, a decision that was met with countermeasures. China subsequently filed a complainty with the World Trade Organization (WTO), asking it to facilitate “consultations” with the US to reduce or end tariffs. The countries were close to striking a trade deal in the spring, but the Chinese ultimately decided not to move forward because of some of the demands the US was making. Since then there has been little progress toward reaching a comprehensive agreement.
US-China trade talks: Key sticking points on Day 2
The Federal Reserve is taking a meeting-by-meeting approach to setting interest rates and for now is not committed to a set course of action ahead, Vice Chair Richard Clarida said. "We're gonna take this meeting by meeting. We're not on a preset course," Clarida added. He spoke two days after the policymaking FOMC cut its benchmark interest rate by a qtr point to a target of 1.75-2%. It was the 2nd reduction of the year & came after the Fed had hiked rates 9 times, the most recent coming in Dec. Clarida used variations of the "meeting by meeting" theme several times as he sought to convey that committee members are basing their views on data as it comes in & will remain flexible. "Clearly the center of gravity on the committee is the second adjustment was appropriate," he said. "Going into October an beyond, we'll go one meeting at a time." This week's meeting was notable for the number of dissents on the rate vote. 3 members cast "no" votes, with 2 wanting the Fed to hold the line & one, St Louis Pres James Bullard, calling for an even more aggressive 50 basis point cut. The post-meeting statement again noted worries over a global economic slowdown & low inflation as justification for the cut. However, Clarida called the US "the best pupil in the class" when comparing growth to other countries. "I think a lot of other countries in the world would envy where we are now," he said. "I'm not surprised by the resilience, but we don't take it for granted, either."
Fed Vice Chair Clarida says the Fed will take interest rate policy 'meeting by meeting
General Motors (GM) promised 5400 jobs & a $7B US investment to the United Auto Workers (UAW) association
in an attempt to end their ongoing strike, the company announced. The funds would be distributed over the next 4 years. The UAW has been on strike against GM over disputes on health care & the company shipping jobs
to Mexico, where the auto manufacturer is the largest employer, instead
of keeping them in the US, among other issues. “We
presented a strong offer that improves wages, benefits and grows U.S.
jobs in substantive ways and it is disappointing that the UAW leadership
has chosen to strike,” GM's statement said. “We have negotiated in good faith with a sense of urgency. Our goal remains to build a strong future for our employees and our business.” And, per a letter from UAW VP Terry Dittes, "some progress has been made." About ½ of the proposed jobs would be new & the rest would be considered “retained” because of the investment.
The funds are set to be invested into facilities with UAW
representation, but a portion would go toward joint ventures that
are separate from the union's contract with GM. The offer reportedly includes a 2% wage increase for UAW workers for the first & 3rd year of the contract & 2% lump-sum payments in the 2nd & 4th years. GM said it also offered to build assembly plants in Michigan & Ohio. The stock slid back 7¢.
If you would like to learn more about GM, click on this link:club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/GM?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
GM promises 5,400 jobs and $7B in bid to end UAW strike
GM negotiations are moving forward & it looks like the strike may be settled soon. But China trade talks just keep plodding along. It's likely that very little will be accomplished in stock trading later today. The Dow is 220 below its recent record high.
Dow Jones Industrials
No comments:
Post a Comment