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Stocks ended slightly higher, shrugging off earlier losses during the session after President Donald Trump wavered over whether tariffs would be rolled back as part of a partial deal with China.
Each of the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq posted record closing highs Friday and ended higher for the week.
Here’s where markets settled at the close of regular equity trading:
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S&P 500 (^GSPC): +0.26%, or 7.9 points
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Dow (^DJI): +0.02%, or 6.44 points
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Nasdaq (^IXIC): +0.48%, or 40.8 points
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10-year Treasury yield (^TNX): +1.8 bps to 1.94%
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Gold (GC=F): -0.43% to $1,460.10 per ounce
President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that the U.S. had not yet agreed to reduce tariffs on Chinese imports as part of a phase one deal, according to multiple reports.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce had said both China and the U.S. had agreed to reduce tariffs in the event that a phase one trade deal were passed. This had sent stocks sailing to record highs.
However, developments since had suggested a tariff rollback was still in contention in the White House. Trade adviser Peter Navarro suggested on Fox Business on Thursday that the White House was still undecided over whether to roll back tariffs, and Reuters reported that reducing levies had not been part of the Trump administration’s and China’s original handshake deal.
Despite the deflating trade optimism Friday, hopes of progress toward an at least partial trade agreement earlier this month and throughout October had helped boost the Chinese economy, where geopolitical concerns had been a drag on growth.
China’s customs administration reported late Thursday that exports fell less than expected in October, falling 0.9% over last year for the month versus a much steeper 3.9% drop expected. This followed a 3.2% decline in September. Exports to the U.S. slumped by 11.3% for the year-to-date in dollar terms, versus the first 10 months of 2018.
Imports also fell less sharply than expected, declining by 6.4% versus the 7.8% drop anticipated. Taken together, China’s trade surplus expanded to $42.8 billion, from $39.19 billion in September.
STOCKS: Disney earnings top expectations, Gap guides down
Disney (DIS) topped expectations in fiscal fourth-quarter results, the company’s last before its highly anticipated Disney+ streaming service launches in the U.S. on Tuesday. The entertainment powerhouse delivered adjusted earnings of $1.07 per share on revenue of $19.1 billion, better than the 95 cents a share and $19.05 billion expected.
The strong results were broad-based, with its studio entertainment division getting a boost on the back of releases including The Lion King, Toy Story 4 and Aladdin. Its parks and products segment generated more sales and profit than expected amid strong Toy Story and Frozen merchandise sales, offsetting a hit to attendance at Disney World due to Hurricane Dorian, and Hong Kong Disneyland as protests overtook the region.