Major stock market indexes made solid gains in anticipation of the G-20 meeting in Tokyo that will include talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping over the growing U.S.-China trade row. A number of Chinese stocks that would benefit from a U.S.-China trade deal rallied Thursday, among them online giant Alibaba (BABA) (up 1.1%), Baozun (BZUN) (2.8%), and New Oriental Education (EDU) (0.2%).
XMarket hopes were buoyed after reports late Wednesday that the U.S. might suspend tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods while the two sides resume U.S.-China trade talks. But markets' trade optimism dimmed after Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the U.S. "may move ahead on additional tariffs" if Saturday's planned discussions aren't satisfactory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than 0.1%. It was weighed down by a nearly 3% drop in Boeing (BA), whose 737 Max jet will face further scrutiny by the FAA. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.7%. The small-cap bellwether Russell 2000 surged 1.6%.
Volume remained light and mostly lower from the same time Wednesday. NYSE volume dipped 7%, while Nasdaq fell 2%, according to early data.
Other Chinese stocks that have been hit hard by worries over growth and trade disputes with the U.S. were also higher, including Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) (up 1.6%), Autohome (ATHM) (up 5.2%), Weibo (WB) (up 3%) and JD.com (JD) (up 0.5%).
Stock Market And Big Techs
The FAANG stocks also mostly advanced.
Facebook (FB) added 1%, as it completes a 48-week cup with handle base, but remains 5% below the 198.58 buy point.
Apple (AAPL) closed largely unchanged, but rose after hours. Like Facebook, Apple is completing a new cup base, but remains 7% below its 215.41 entry. Amazon (AMZN), like the others in the FAANG matrix, is emerging from a lengthy, 42-week cup with handle. But Amazon, up 0.3%, still holds a very high 98 Composite Rating, and lurks just 3% below its 1,964.50 buy point.
Netflix (NFLX) advanced 2.2%, as it found support at the 200-day moving average line and moved above its 50-day moving average. NFLX has been in a consolidation pattern for over a year, but remains significantly below a 386.09 proper entry point in a flat base within the huge base.
Alphabet's Google (GOOGL), meanwhile, dipped 0.3% as it continues to struggle. It gapped down 7% on April 30 out of a lengthy saucer-with-handle base. GOOGL is 17% below its recent high set on April 29, and now trades below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, 13% below its buy point.
IBD 50 Stocks Shine
Meanwhile, among IBD 50 growth stocks pushing up the stock market, Veeva Systems (VEEV) jumped 4.9% after four down days of trading. Veeva, with its highest-possible 99 Composite Rating, is the No. 2 stock on the IBD 50 list. It broke out of a 16-week consolidation in late January and rose sharply for much of the spring. It's now 48% extended above its 109.15 entry.
Atlassian (TEAM), another stock with a 99 Composite Rating, jumped 2.1%. The No. 1 ranked stock in the Specialty Enterprise Software Group, it continues to test support at the 50-day moving average line but remains extended 45% above an earlier 89.92 buy point.
The market rose as the final estimate for first quarter GDP from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showed 3.1% growth in the first quarter, despite a softer-than-expected rise of 0.9% in personal consumption. New jobless claims reached a near-two-month high of 227,000 last week, up 10,000, but pending home sales rose 1.1% in May, better than expected.
Innovator IBD 50 (FFTY) ETF rose 1.2%, indicating strength among growth stocks.
Please follow Jones on Twitter at @IBD_TJones for more on growth stocks, financial markets and the economy.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
After Hours: These 5 Dow Stocks Are Moving On News
Best Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch: See Updates To IBD Stock Lists
IBD Digital: Unlock IBD's Premium Stock Lists, Tools And Analysis Today
Get Free IBD Newsletters: Market Prep | Tech Report | How To Invest
