Wall Street: Dow up for 8th day in a row amid easing US-China worries

• US stocks are up as trade talks between the US and China are expected to deliver a rather positive outcome on Tuesday.
• The recent move by Trump, to put ZTE back into business in the US is seen as a positive precursor for further constructive talks between the two countries.  

The S&P 500 gained 0.09% to end at 2,730.13 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.27% to 24,899.41. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 0.11% to 7,411.31 on the first day of the week. The Dow is up for the 8th consecutive day.  

The three main American indices crept higher on Monday riding last week’s biggest weekly advance since March.  

Driving the markets higher are the hopes that the trade tensions between the US and China might start to abate. On Tuesday, a top-level Chinese delegation will meet with US officials in the US for a second round of discussion to end the trade war between the two largest economies in the world.

Earlier on Sunday, US President Trump tweeted that he would get ZTE, Chinese cell phone manufacturer, “back into business”, which has seen by the market as a very positive action towards US-China trade partnership. “President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!” Trump tweeted.

He also tweeted a rather promising message for the upcoming trade talks on Tuesday: “China and the United States are working well together on trade, but past negotiations have been so one-sided in favor of China, for so many years, that it is hard for them to make a deal that benefits both countries. But be cool, it will all work out!”

Jonathan Fenby at TS Lombard commented: “For the President to become suddenly concerned about Chinese jobs is quite a volte-face, the most probable explanation can only be that he wants to butter up Xi with a concession on the trade front to get China’s help to make Kim Jong-un (the North Korean leader) amenable to a deal at the Singapore summit, in an application of linkage he advanced last year of Korea and China trade issues.”

Dow Jones daily chart