Friday's Stock Market Close: US Equities Soar On Partial China Trade Deal

Stocks soared Friday on hopes for an easing of the U.S.-China trade dispute as high-level negotiations wrapped up a mini-deal, opening the way for a wider agreement later this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 319 points to 26,815, bringing the gain for the week to more than 350 points. The S&P 500 picked up 32 points to close the week at 2,970 while the Nasdaq composite gained 106 points to finish the week at 8,056.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange totaled nearly 2.8 million shares with 2,396 issues advancing and 594 declining. One-hundred-11 stocks hit new highs and 12 set new lows.

Leading the most actives were Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Bank of America (BAC) and General Electric (GE).

President Trump and lead Chinese negotiator Liu He met at the White House following two days of talks involving Liu, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The agreement includes agricultural concessions from China and U.S. agreement on some tariff relief, but Trump noted it is not yet in writing, a process that could take five weeks.

"We have had a productive two days of discussions," Mnuchin said just before briefing the president.

Thirty percent tariffs had been scheduled to take effect Tuesday on $250 billion in Chinese goods.

Joseph Trevisani, senior analyst at FXStreet said a partial deal will be good for both the U.S. and Chinese economies, far more potent than anything either country’s central bank could conjure with interest rates.

“A deal would strengthen each president's domestic and international position. For Xi Jinping it would likely mute US criticism should it move in force into Hong Kong, and for Donald Trump, a strong economy is his best ally in the 2020 election,” Trevisani said.

In Europe, EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier reportedly got the green light from the 27 remaining members in the EU to open intensive negotiations with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline for the United Kingdom’s divorce from the economic alliance.

GM (GM) released highlights of its latest offer in the ongoing strike by the United Autoworkers. The offer includes wage increases, healthcare benefits and a pathway to permanent employment for temporary workers. The UAW accused GM of “playing games” and stalling the negotiating process.

Walmart (WMT) announced John Furner as its new president and CEO for U.S. operations, effective Nov. 1. Furner, 45, previously headed up the retail giant’s Sam’s Club stores.

Victoria’s Secret announced it would lay off 50 employees amid anemic sales.

Stocks were higher on global markets.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed up 2.34% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.15% and the Shanghai Composite added 0.88%. Australia’s S&P/ASX added 0.91%.

In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 closed up 0.84%, while the German Dax surged 2.68% and the French CAC 40 added 1.73%. The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 2.22%.

The British pound was up 1.69 cents to $1.2654 while the euro inched up 0.35 cent to $1.1039. The dollar index was off 0.38%.

Crude oil futures added added $1.23 to $54.78 a barrel while Brent crude was up 9 cents to $60.60. Gold futures lost $12.20 to $1,488 an ounce while silver gave up 5 cents to fall to $17.55 an ounce.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 1.745%, off 28/32. Yield on the 30-year note rose to 2.205%, off 31/32.