U.S. stock futures traded higher Thursday night after President Donald Trump issued positive remarks on the U.S.-China trade talks.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 30 points, or 0.1% to imply a gain of around 65 points at Friday’s open. S&P 500 futures were up 0.1% while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.2%.
Trump told reporters that talks between the two countries are going “really well.” His comments came after he tweeted earlier in the day he would meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the White House on Friday. That tweet was enough to temporarily assuage fears about a potential lack of progress from the talks.
The Dow rose as much as 257 points on Thursday before closing 150 points higher. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively.
Trump’s tweet came hours after a deluge of trade-related headlines Wednesday night gave investors whiplash. Some reports indicated the talks were stalling or were yielding little fruit. Others, however, pointed toward some sort of deal being made that would involve holding off on higher U.S. tariffs against China.
“Even a partial deal could be a huge boost for stocks, especially following this week’s scary headlines,” Ken Berman, founder of Gorilla Trades, said in a note. “The Chinese delegation is scheduled to leave Washington tomorrow, so another day of volatile swings might be ahead.”
The major stock indexes are little changed as investors await the outcome of the negotiations. The U.S.-China trade war has dragged on for more than a year. In that time, the U.S. has targeted billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods with tariffs. China has retaliated with levies of its own, sparking fears of slower economic growth and weaker corporate earnings expansion.
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