Despite a volatile end to 2018, investors have been piling into U.S. equities in January as the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained over 300 points on Friday while Treasury yields rose across the board.
The benchmark 10-year yield ticked higher to 2.782, while the 30-year yield rose to 3.095. Meanwhile, short-term yields like the five-year went up to 2.615 and the two-year yield rose to 2.606.
As bond prices dipped on rising yields, the S&P 500 gained 1.18 percent and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.08 percent on news that U.S.-China trade negotiations are making progress.
China purportedly offered to fix the trade imbalance with the United States by increasing purchases of U.S. goods, according to a Bloomberg News report. Per the report, China offered to increase its annual import of U.S. goods by over $1 trillion.
“That’s the key factor,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. “If we don’t get that issue resolved, the market going to hit upside headwinds no matter what happens.”
“If we get that issue out of the way, which will boost business and consumer confidence, there is still plenty of room for the market to do really well,” added Frederick.