Stocks erased losses and the Nasdaq composite led in afternoon trading Friday as the stock market gyrated on sometimes conflicting headlines on the China trade war.
XThe Nasdaq rose 0.2% in a day that so far saw the composite climb as much as 0.6% and fall as much as 0.2%. The S&P 500 was up 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat. All three indexes climbed to record highs at the open, on news that U.S. and Chinese negotiators had reached a preliminary trade deal.
The agreement includes reductions of U.S. tariffs and Chinese pledges to buy U.S. agricultural products. It was sometimes hard to get a clear picture on the talks, with conflicting signals this morning — including President Trump's tweets on the subject.
Volume was tracking slightly lower on the Nasdaq and NYSE compared with the same time on Thursday. Declining stocks led advancers by a 7-6 ratio across the board.
Chinese stocks also showed uncertain action. The iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) and iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) were flat after erasing earlier gains. Both have been trending higher from lows of a few months ago.
Mastercard (MA) climbed past the 293.79 buy point of a flat base. Volume was merely average, and the relative strength line has not made new highs yet. Mastercard is a Leaderboard stock.
Breakouts Not Related To China Trade War
Several foreign stocks broke out Friday.
Yandex (YNDX) topped the 42.35 buy point of a cup with handle base. Volume in the Russian search engine was heavy.
SAP (SAP) broke out of a cup-with-handle base, rising past the 137.22 buy point. Volume was only moderately above average.
With conservatives winning the U.K. Parliament elections, a couple of British stocks broke out.
BAE Systems (BAESY) gapped past the 30.74 buy point of a flat base. Volume was below average, however. National Grid (NGG) gapped out of a flat base in huge volume. Election results mean there's a small chance the British utility company will be nationalized, reports said.
IShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU) gapped up to a September 2018 high.
Despite a breakthrough in the China trade war, retail was Friday's weakest sector. Department stores, electronics chains and discount retailers were lower. Costco (COST) was off 1.6% after its sales for the quarter missed estimates.
Juan Carlos Arancibia is the Markets Editor of IBD and oversees our market coverage. Follow him at @IBD_jarancibia
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