Stocks push past latest trade-war hurdle

NEW YORK — The stock market capped another week of healthy gains on Friday, but it ended on more of a befuddled note than a bang as confusion about the U.S.-China trade war hung over the market.

Stocks wobbled between small gains and losses through the day amid conflicting signals about the progress being made by U.S. and Chinese negotiators.

President Donald Trump said he has not agreed to roll back any tariffs, just a day after a Chinese official said the two sides had agreed to do just that if talks progress.

Stocks and bond yields dipped immediately after Trump told reporters at the White House, “I haven’t agreed to anything.” But after flip-flopping through the day, the S&P 500 turned higher in the last hour of trading and closed at a record 3,093.08, up 7.90, or 0.3 percent.

It’s the fifth straight week of gains for the index, which matches its longest winning streak in the last two years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 6.44 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 27,681.24, and the Nasdaq composite gained 40.80, or 0.5 percent, to 8,475.31.

“The general tone of the market will continue to be very cautiously optimistic,” said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade.

Rising confidence can be found not only in recordhigh stock prices but also in a sharp rise for Treasury yields. When investors feel less need for safety, they sell government bonds. And when Treasury prices fall, their yields rise.

The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 1.94 percent from 1.92 percent late Thursday and from a low of 1.50 percent just last month.

Confidence may have gotten so high recently that stock prices have become too expensive, said George Young, portfolio manager at Villere & Co.

He sees so few stocks attractively priced that he now has 15 percent of his clients’ money at mutual funds and separately managed accounts sitting in cash. In June, when worries about the economy and trade war were higher, Young had only 5 percent in cash given the many bargains available.

“I wouldn’t say I’m negative on the market,” Young said, “but when stocks get ahead of themselves, it’s incumbent upon me to balance against the long term.”

Benchmark crude oil rose 9 cents to settle at $57.24 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 22 cents to $62.51 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline fell 1 cent to $1.63 per gallon. Natural gas rose 2 cents to $2.79 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $2.90 to $1,461.30 per ounce, silver rose 19 cents to $16.78 per ounce and copper fell 4 cents to $2.68 per pound.