Stocks climb as investors hope for Trump-Xi trade progress

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Stocks climbed again Friday as investors waited for President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China to discuss trade, a meeting they hope will start to resolve the nations’ trade dispute. The U.S. market jumped this week after falling to a six-month low the week before.

Technology and health care companies made the largest gains Friday. Energy companies slipped as U.S. crude oil fell again, and briefly traded under $50 a barrel. The price of crude oil dropped 22 percent in November, its worst month in a decade. Hotel operator Marriott tumbled after it announced a data breach that could affect 500 million guests.

The rally this week helped the market finish with a modest gain in November, but the S&P 500 is still 5.8 percent away from the alltime high it set in late September. Among other issues, that drop reflects investors’ pessimism that the U.S. and China will resolve their differences without causing damage to the global economy. They have been sparring for months over issues including China’s technology policy.

“The outlook for the global economy in 2019 does depend on some peace in the trade dispute between the U.S. and China,” said David Kelly, chief global strategist for JPMorgan Funds. He said global stocks will probably jump if the two leaders announce the framework of a deal and fall if they don’t. In any case, he thinks the two sides will reach an agreement by early 2019.