After an early stumble, US indexes end ‘modestly higher’; dollar gains

Third straight week losses for FTSE 100 as anxiety grips European investors

NEW YORK, June 9, (Agencies): The stock market shook off a bumpy start and ended modestly higher Friday, led by gains in consumer products companies like Monster Beverage and Procter & Gamble. Health care companies also rose. Energy companies slipped along with the price of oil.

Trading has been muted ahead of the Group of Seven summit in Quebec, which began Friday. The meeting is expected to be tense as other leaders confront President Donald Trump over his protectionist trade policies.

Consumer products companies, which have been out of favor the last few months, rose for the second day in a row. Overall, major indexes were mostly higher after posting small losses the day before.

The G-7 meeting was set to be unusually contentious, as leaders of France and Canada in particular have expressed in tough terms their disapproval of the tariffs President Donald Trump recently imposed on steel and aluminum imports. Trump is expected to leave the summit on Saturday before it officially concludes as he heads to Singapore ahead of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trade tensions have been rattling markets for the last three months, and the G-7 summit isn’t expected to deliver much relief. That said, there could be a silver lining to the ongoing talks between the US and its trading partners over the highly unpopular US tariffs, according to Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist for the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

“The end result probably is going to be lower tariffs across the board,” Wren said. Wren said that ultimately a large number of older tariffs that are currently levied on US imports and exports could be reduced or eliminated.

The S&P 500 index added 8.66 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,779.03. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 75.12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 25,316.53. The Nasdaq composite gained 10.44 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,645.51. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 4.72 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,672.49. Smaller and more US-focused stocks have fared better than the rest of the market in recent months as investors worry that trade frictions could impact large multinational companies. The Russell is on a six-week winning streak.

Wall Street appeared to get ever so slightly less worried about the trade situation this week. The Dow has taken a bigger hit from the trade disputes than other US indexes, but this week was its best in three months. The Nasdaq and Russell 2000 reached all-time highs on Wednesday.

Among consumer products makers, Monster Beverage climbed 5 percent to $55.48 after its annual shareholder meeting. Stifel analyst Mark Astrachan said

the company’s sales growth is solid. He said the company plans to raise its US prices later this year in response to higher aluminum prices.

Tide maker Procter & Gamble gained 1.9 percent to $77.18. Cigarette maker Philip Morris International rose 2.6 percent to $79.42 after it raised its quarterly dividend, while Reuters said the company plans to start selling its tobaccoheating Iqos device in India.

Britain’s leading stock index fell on Friday, tracking a broad sell-off by European shares as investors faced the prospect of tightening financial conditions and growing political risk.

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.3 percent for its third straight week of losses. Germany’s DAX dropped 0.4 percent and Italy’s FTSE MIB sank 1.9 percent.

Risk appetite has dried up this week a new Italian government settled in and the European Central Bank indicated it might end ultra-loose monetary policy

earlier than expected.

Divisions on trade as G7 leaders’ summit got under way added to investors’ anxieties.

“Events going on that people point to, such as the G7 meeting, are all idiosyncratic things that have their impact, but I think often what you see is a broader story underneath that is affecting everything and is probably exacerbating those situations,” said Clark Fenton, chief investment officer at Agilis Investment Management. “I think it comes back to quantitative tightening.”

On Friday financials were the biggest drag on the FTSE 100, as HSBC, Prudential, Lloyds and Barclays fell 0.3 to 1.2 percent.

Mergers and acquisitions drove the UK market. Satellite firm Inmarsat surged on takeover speculation to end the day 13.5 percent higher at the top of the FTSE 250.

After trading hours, the company

confirmed US firm Echostar had made an acquisition proposal, which its board rejected on the grounds that it “significantly undervalued” Inmarsat.

Energy and mining stocks also fell as investors shed all the sectors seen as most exposed to the business cycle. Gold miner Fresnillo led the selloff, tumbling 6.4 percent to the bottom of the FTSE 100.

Antofagasta, Anglo American, and Glencore fell 1.7 to 3.2 percent. Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell dropped 0.6 to 1 percent.

Mid-cap miners Kaz Minerals, Hochschild and Centamin fell 3.2 to 8.2 percent.

The FTSE 100 hit its lowest in more than a week in early trading, but recovered during the day. It briefly turned positive as sterling fell after the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, called the UK’s approach to future trade “fairly paradoxical”.