Stocks close mixed on US-China trade deal worries, tech share strength
The Wall Street Journal Global Economics Editor Jon Hilsenrath discusses the progress towards a U.S.-China deal as the March 1st trade deadline rapidly approaches.
Stocks closed mixed Friday as investors remained concerned about trade relations between the U.S. and China, but strength in the tech sector lifted two key averages.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed higher, while Dow Jones Industrial Average ended lower despite paring much of the day's losses. The Nasdaq had its largest seven-week percentage gain since the week ending Aug. 28, 2009.
Despite the blue-chip average's decline it ended the week higher, notching its largest seven-week percentage gain since the week ending Nov. 11, 2011.
Worries that U.S.-China trade talks aren't going as well as hoped weighed on sentiment. Another round of talks is scheduled for next week in Beijing, but Wall Street remained unhappy Friday after learning the day before that President Trump did not plan to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the March 1 deadline set by the two countries for reaching a trade pact.
White House adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox Business, "There is a pretty sizable distance to go in U.S.-China trade talks." After those comments, the Dow Industrials fell into a downward spiral in the last session.
Shares of Motorola Solutions surged 14 percent and Electronic Arts stock climbed 16 percent.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 44296.51 | +426.16 | +0.97% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5969.34 | +20.63 | +0.35% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 19003.651134 | +31.23 | +0.16% |
Hasbro missed estimates for quarterly profit on Friday as the toymaker struggled with the collapse of Toys "R" Us and falling European demand.
The results followed those of rival Mattel, which on Thursday posted a surprise fourth-quarter profit, as the toymaker benefited from a makeover of its iconic Barbie doll while keeping a tight lid on costs.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSI | MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC. | 500.90 | +6.06 | +1.22% |
| EA | ELECTRONIC ARTS INC. | 166.67 | -1.30 | -0.77% |
| HAS | HASBRO INC. | 62.52 | +0.61 | +0.99% |
| MAT | MATTEL INC. | 18.69 | +0.31 | +1.69% |
In Asian markets on Friday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng returned to trading after the Lunar New Year holiday and closed lower by 0.3 percent on the trade deal concerns.
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Chinese markets remained closed. Japan’s Nikkei sank 2 percent, its biggest one-day loss since early January. For the week, the index lost 2.2 percent.
In Europe, the major markets closed to the downside. London’s FTSE was lower by 0.3 percent, Germany’s DAX fell 1 percent and France’s CAC slipped 0.5 percent.