US close: Stocks manage gains as trade optimism wavers

(Sharecast News) - Stocks in the States finished in positive territory for the first session of the week, on the back of mixed reports around the state of the ongoing trade talks between the US and China.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.11% at 28,036.22, the S&P 500 added 0.05% to 3,122.03, and the Nasdaq Composite ended the session 0.11% firmer at 8,549.94.

Over the weekend, top US and Chinese trade negotiators had held what China's ministry of commerce labelled "constructive" talks to try and reach a phase-one trade deal.

Still, that followed other reports over the last week that several issues remained outstanding, seeing some City analysts reacting coolly to the news.

Heightening caution, on Monday morning CNBC reported that officials in Beijing had been troubled by the US President's assertion that no agreement to roll-back tariffs had been reached.

In other news out of China, Reuters reported on Saturday that Washington was set to extend a licence allowing US companies to continue to trade with Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei for two weeks, while overnight the People's Bank of China trimmed its reverse repurchase interest rate by five basis points to 2.50%.

"A key interest cut in China provided another reason for optimism today, with the People's Bank trimming the seven-day reverse repurchase agreement rate by five basis points," said IG's Josh Mahony.

"For markets, this cut is as much about proving that the PBoC remain accommodative, with further easing likely in the event of continued weak growth."

Wall Street's main market gauges had finished at record highs during the previous session, after US national economic advisor Larry Kudlow told Fox Business that talks for a preliminary trade deal with Beijing were in their final stages.

Investors were also digesting a research note from analysts at Morgan Stanley, which predicted that equities in markets outside the US would outperform stocks in the US, with so-called 'value' stocks set to outperform 'growth'.

In the same note, which saw the investment bank upgrade its view on shares in Europe, Japan and emerging markets, the strategists told clients to "focus on where valuations are reasonable and 2020 earnings are achievable".

On the economic front, the National Association of Homebuilders's Housing Market Index declined by one point from the previous month's level to reach a reading of 70.0 points, falling short of consensus expectations for 71.0.

Late in the day, the Treasury Department released its monthly international capital data, which revealed a net long-term Treasury international capital inflow of $49.5bn for September, swinging from outflows of $41.2bn in August.

China holdings of US Treasuries were largely flat at $1.1trn, while those held by Japan shrank by $28.9bn, which still left that country the largest overseas holder of US Treasury notes at $1.15trn.

In corporate news, Boeing was down 0.57%, even after its customer SunExpress Airlines exercised 10 more options for 737 MAX-8 aircraft.

The entire global 737 MAX fleet remains grounded after two crashes caused by software installed in the aircraft killed hundreds of passengers in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

Ford Motor was 0.11% weaker after the carmaker took the wraps off its first all-electric SUV over the weekend, dubbed the 'Ford Mustang E'.

HP was off 0.79% after it rejected a $33.5bn takeover offer from Xerox Holdings on Sunday, with the company claiming the cash-and-shares offer was below fair value, although it did leave the door open to consolidation.

Going the other way were Xerox shares, which were ahead 0.92%, while DIY chain Home Depot managed gains of 0.63% ahead of its earnings report on Tuesday.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $147.65 2.06%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $272.91 1.31%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $94.18 1.23%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $120.21 1.16%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $121.89 1.12%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $130.62 0.84%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $53.01 0.68%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $238.85 0.66%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $134.26 0.54%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $267.10 0.50%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $118.55 -1.73%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $143.59 -1.18%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $68.52 -0.97%
American Express Co. (AXP) $119.66 -0.91%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $84.13 -0.91%
3M Co. (MMM) $170.54 -0.78%
Boeing Co. (BA) $369.37 -0.60%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $61.94 -0.32%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $219.73 -0.24%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $149.11 -0.17%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $212.28 3.96%
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) $19.83 3.88%
Discovery Inc. Class A (DISCA) $30.76 3.50%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $39.88 3.42%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $59.36 3.13%
Ball Corp (BLL) $67.59 3.03%
HollyFrontier Corp (HFC) $53.91 2.61%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $12.22 2.60%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $302.57 2.56%
Discovery Inc. Class C (DISCK) $28.55 2.40%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $178.09 -20.22%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $18.01 -8.35%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $17.17 -5.50%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $17.35 -5.14%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $19.93 -4.60%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $38.84 -4.24%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $18.95 -4.05%
Apache Corp. (APA) $22.98 -3.89%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $19.52 -3.79%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $136.52 -3.07%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $212.28 3.96%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $302.57 2.56%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $36.79 2.34%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $120.15 2.08%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $268.51 1.74%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $60.09 1.71%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $197.40 1.18%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $449.89 1.05%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $31.43 0.93%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $87.49 0.91%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $533.01 -3.11%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $17.23 -2.66%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $92.43 -2.29%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $32.80 -2.24%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $10.07 -2.23%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $56.62 -2.06%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $97.45 -1.98%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $49.51 -1.65%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $92.38 -1.37%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $340.19 -1.36%