Wall Street ends the week on a positive note as investors ignore trade headlines

All the major sectors other than energy close the day in the positive territory on Friday.
China announces new tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods.
Upbeat earnings lift consumer staples.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Major equity indexes started the day with small changes and struggled to extend higher during the first few hours of the session as the latest trade headlines weighed on the market sentiment. However, upbeat macroeconomic data releases from the United States and strong earnings figures changed the mood and allowed Wall Street to end the week higher.

Earlier today, China announced that it would impose import tariffs ranging from 5% to 25% on $60 billion worth of U.S. good. However, even the trade-sensitive S&P 500 Industrials Index was able to shrug off this news and close the day with small gains. "The rhetoric between U.S. and China has been ongoing and everyone has already made their bets on what the trade war is going to be," Craig Hodges, portfolio manager with Hodges Funds in Dallas, Texas, told Reuters.

The monthly report released by the from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the unemployment ticked down to 3.9% in July from 4% in June with a 157,000 increase seen in the total nonfarm employment, which confirmed the Fed's hawkish stance.

Meanwhile, led by a more than 8% increase seen in Karft Heinz' shares following strong earnings figures, the S&P 500 Consumer Staple Index added 1.2% on the day to become the second-best performing sector behind the rate-sensitive S&P 500 Real Estate Index.

On the other hand, falling crude oil prices, once again, weighed on the S&P 500 Energy Index and forced it to close the week with a 0.47% loss.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 128.32 points, or 0.51%, to 25,454.48, the S&P 500 rose 12.7 points, or 0.45%, to 2,839.32 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 8.59 points, or 0.11%, to 7,811.27. For the week, these three indexes gained 0.04%, 0.76%, and 0.96% respectively.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

EUR/USD holds losses near 1.1850 as US, China holidays keep trade muted

EUR/USD opens the week on a softer note, trading near 1.1860 during the Asian session on Monday. Activity is likely to remain muted, with United States markets closed for the Presidents’ Day holiday, while Mainland China is also shut for the week-long Lunar New Year break.

GBP/USD flat lines as traders await key UK macro data and FOMC minutes

The GBP/USD pair kicks off a new week on a subdued note and oscillates in a narrow range, just below mid-1.3600s, during the Asian session. Moreover, the mixed fundamental backdrop warrants some caution for aggressive traders as the market focus now shifts to this week's important releases from the UK and the US.

Gold remains below $5,050 despite Fed rate cut bets, uncertain geopolitical tensions

Gold edges lower after registering over 2% gains in the previous session, trading around $5,030 per troy ounce during the Asian hours on Monday. However, the non-interest-bearing Gold could further gain ground following softer January Consumer Price Index figures, which reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve could cut rates later this year.

Week ahead: Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

The US jobs report for January, which was delayed slightly, didn’t do the dovish Fed bets any favours, as expectations of a soft print did not materialize, confounding the raft of weak job indicators seen in the prior week.

Global inflation watch: Signs of cooling services inflation

Realized inflation landed close to expectations in January, as negative base effects weighed on the annual rates. Remaining sticky inflation is largely explained by services, while tariff-driven goods inflation remains limited even in the US.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.