- Positive developments on trade improve the market sentiment on Friday.
- CBOE Volatility Index drops 7% on the day.
After starting the day slightly higher, major equity indexes in the U.S. turned during the first few hours of the session but gained traction in the remainder of the day to close the week on a positive note as the latest trade headlines improved the market sentiment.
A report published in the Wall Street Journal claimed that Chinese and American negotiators were aiming to end the trade dispute by November. Moreover, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett crossed the wires saying that they were very close to reaching a NAFTA agreement with Mexico. The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street’s fear gauge, dropped nearly 7% to confirm the strong risk-appetite.
“Any conversations we have with China to come up with a deal and any conversations we have with Mexico would be seen as a win for the U.S.,” Jeffrey Frankel, president at Stuart Frankel & Co, in New York, told Reuters on Friday.
The trade-sensitive S&P 500 Industrials Index finished the day 0.6% higher. Furthermore, commodities rebounded and helped the S&P 500 Energy Index added 0.27% today. Meanwhile, boosted by the upbeat earning figures from retail-chain Nordstrom, the S&P 500 Consumer Staples Index added 0.67%. On the other hand, the S&P 500 Information Technology Index, which suffered losses amid the dismal performance of the FAANG Group, staged a late recovery to end the day with a 0.18% gain.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 110.59 points, or 0.43%, to 25,669.32, the S&P 500 rose 9.44 points, or 0.33%, to 2,850.13 and the Nasdaq Composite added 9.81 points, or 0.13, to 7,816.33.
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