The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Conflicting signals on trade talks send U.S. stocks lower
U.S. stocks fell in light trading, the dollar rose and Treasury yields retreated as investors assessed conflicting signals on trade talks between the world’s two largest economies.
The S&P 500 Index edged lower on volume 8 percent below the 30-day average, adding to a weekly loss. Technology shares slid after Applied Materials Inc. reported weak results. Small caps pushed to a fresh record as the dollar headed for its strongest week since 2016. Brent crude held below $80 a barrel and gold halted a slide. The 10-year yield fell below 3.1 percent.
In Europe, the common currency fell and Italian 10-year bond yields jumped to the highest since October amid uncertainty over the Five Star Movement-League coalition’s policy platform as they attempt to form a government. The region’s major equity benchmark pared an eighth straight weekly advance.
Investors are closely watching progress on the latest China-U.S. trade talks for signs of a breakthrough that could reignite a recent rally in global equities, while factoring in oil prices at a four-year high and a 10-year Treasury yield now firmly above 3 percent. Politics in peripheral Europe are also back in the spotlight after Italy’s populist leaders sealed a coalition agreement and a plan for reforms seen as a challenge to the European Union establishment.
The Turkish lira weakened to a fresh record as emerging market currencies headed for their biggest weekly slump since November 2016.