U.S. markets and stock ETFs maintained their momentum Thursday after President Donald Trump said he would meet with the Chinese trade delegation, adding to hopes of a trade deal.
On Thursday, the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) was up 0.5%, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEArca: DIA) rose 0.5%, and SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY) gained 0.6%.
Trump on Twitter said he would meet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, the head of the Chinese negotiating team, at the White House Friday, dispelling fears earlier that Chinese leaders would be leaving a day earlier than expected, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The tweet … is giving market participants a reason to believe that perhaps a trade deal or at least a partial deal might be announced as early as tomorrow,” Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist at SlateStone Wealth LLC, told Reuters.
Trade Negotiations Continue
Trade negotiations continued through Thursday after the White House agreed to special licenses for some U.S. companies to do business with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co., a sign of de-escalation in a protracted trade war.
Liu also stated that Beijing was willing to reach an accord with Washington to deter an escalation in the trade war, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
“There’s some cause for optimism there, but it does seem to be a very fluid situation,” Steven Violin, a portfolio manager at F.L.Putnam Investment Management, told the WSJ. “It’s been a true roller coaster… The winds seem to change daily.”
The positive updates on trade developments come after China previously urged the U.S. to stop unreasonable pressure on Chinese companies and reports that the two sides made no progress with speculation of an early end to the meetings earlier in the week.
If the two biggest economies in the world do not reach a deal, U.S. tariffs on some Chinese goods will rise as scheduled next week, potentially further weakening economic activity.
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