Bloomberg
Published Dec 05, 2019 12:37
Updated Dec 05, 2019 16:48
Stocks Edge Lower as Trade in Focus; Bonds Drop: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) -- Stocks edged lower as investors weighed the chances that the U.S. will scrap a tariff hike on Chinese goods scheduled for Dec. 15.
The S&P 500 Index erased an early advance as a slide in defensive shares offset gains in technology and raw-material companies. Treasuries fell after data showed U.S. jobless claims slid to a seven-month low, signaling resilience in the labor market ahead of Friday’s jobs report. The dollar slipped. Oil got whipsawed as OPEC ministers gathered to discuss output cuts.
Investors watched for signs the world’s two largest economies will reach a truce in a dispute that’s led to the largest volley of tariffs since the 1930s. Chinese officials are in “close contact” with U.S. counterparts on negotiations, according to Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that discussions with China are going very well.
“It’s more of the same,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA. “We see a continuation of fairly choppy markets, but markets that are holding steady waiting for a resolution to the U.S.-China trade deal.”
Traders also awaited the jobs report on Friday, which is expected to signal that both the employment market and consumers remain buoyant enough to sustain the expansion. That would validate Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s view that rates can stay on hold following three cuts. But it could also reduce the urgency for a trade deal with China, given that escalating levies have so far failed to significantly dent the U.S. labor market.
On corporate news:
Here are some key events coming up this week:
Written By: Bloomberg
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