Shares up on hope Trump-Xi meeting will ease trade tensions
U.S. stocks closed mostly, though modestly, higher Thursday as investors focused optimistically on a weekend meeting between President Trump and China's Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit.
China has, however, listed the removal of Huawei from the U.S. banned list as a demand for a trade deal, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Shares of Boeing fell after the Federal Aviation Administration uncovered a new software issue with the beleaguered Max jet, a fresh hurdle that is likely to further delay the jet from returning to service.
Health care and consumer stocks offset the decline in Boeing prices: Walgreens Boots Alliance shares traded higher after beating quarterly profit estimates; L Brands shares gained on the company's cost containment plans.
Ford Motor shares rose after the carmaker said it will cut 12,000 jobs in Europe and introduce a new car line there.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | THE BOEING CO. | 152.97 | +2.26 | +1.50% |
| WBA | WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE INC. | 9.35 | -0.09 | -0.95% |
| LB | LANDBRIDGE CO. LLC | 53.84 | +0.35 | +0.65% |
| F | FORD MOTOR CO. | 10.41 | -0.96 | -8.44% |
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped to 2.02 percent.
Commodity prices were mixed: Crude oil prices edged up 0.12 percent to $59.45 per barrel; gold fell 0.33 percent to $1,419.70 per ounce.
In economic news, the government reported that the final reading on first-quarter GDP came in at 3.1 percent, matching expectations.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 227,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 1,000 more applications than previously reported.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 42233.05 | -154.52 | -0.36% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5832.92 | +9.40 | +0.16% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 18712.748376 | +145.56 | +0.78% |
In Asia on Thursday, China's Shanghai Composite added 0.7 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.4 percent and Japan's Nikkei rose 1.2 percent.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP
In European markets, London's FTSE slipped 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX added 0.4 percent and France's CAC was lower by 0.1 percent.