U.S. stocks on Friday looked set to join global equity benchmarks in negative territory in the final trading day of the week and month, as investors watched a highly anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina.
How are benchmarks performing?
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YMZ8, -0.57%
were down 126 points, or 0.5%, at 25,265, those for the S&P 500 index
ESZ8, -0.51%
were off 12.70 points, or 0.5%, at 2,731.25, while Nasdaq-100 index futures
NQZ8, -0.54%
slipped 31.50 points at 6,881.75, a decline of 0.5%.
On Thursday, the Dow
YMZ8, -0.57%
slid 27.59 points, or 0.1%, to 25,338.84, while the S&P 500 index
SPX, -0.22%
dropped 5.96 points, or 0.2%, to 2,737.83. The Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP, -0.25%
shed 18.51 points, or 0.3%, to 7,273.08.
For the week and month, the Dow is set to post a gain of 4.3% and a monthly advance of about 0.9%, the S&P 500 is poised for a weekly rise of 4% and a 1% November increase, while the Nasdaq is set to show a weekly climb of 4.8%, but a monthly decline of 0.5%, as of Thursday’s close.
Read: How a looming S&P 500 death cross could chase away the stock market’s Santa rally
What’s driving markets?
Trade talks between China and the U.S. in Buenos Aires will weigh on markets, with investors shifting to trade developments between the two largest economies in the world after the Federal Reserve delivered further signs of a more dovish path for central-bank policy makers, even if a December rate increase appears a certainty.
Trump on Thursday said he was “close to doing something with China” but wasn’t sure he wanted to, citing revenue from tariffs on Chinese imports. He tweeted that “billions of dollars” are pouring into the U.S. Treasury from tariffs and that there is “a long way to go.”
What Fed speakers and data are on tap
New York Fed President John Williams is slated to speak at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, while a reading of Chicago purchasing managers index for November was slated for 9:45 a.m.
What were strategists saying?
“Adding to all of this, yesterday, U.S. President Trump tweeted that ‘there is a long way to go’ with regards to tariffs imposed to Chinese imports, and while speaking to reporters before departing for Argentina, he noted, ‘I think we’re very close to doing something with China but I don’t know that I want to do it,’ wrote Charalambos Pissouros, senior market analyst at JFD Brokers, in a Friday note.
“The Fed minutes confirmed the case for a December hike, but revealed uncertainty with regards to the path of future rate increases,” he added.
Read: Why economists insist Powell wasn’t as dovish as the market thinks
Read: Did Fed’s Powell ‘light the fuse’ for a year-end stock-market rally?
Also see: Has Fed’s Powell just led investors into a dangerous ‘bear trap’?
Which stocks were in focus?
Shares of Marriott International Inc.
MAR, -0.29%
were in focus after the hotel management company said that it encountered a data breach affecting hundreds of millions of its customers. Marriott’s stock was down 5.6% in premarket action.
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Source : MTV
