In line with the steady ebb and flow of the stock market surrounding any and all trade news, stocks continue to rise Thursday for the beginning of high-level trade negotiations between U.S. and China.
Here's how the market closed Thursday:
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA): +0.57% or 150.93 points
S&P 500 Index (SPY): +0.64% or 18.76 points
NASDAQ Composite Index (QQQ): +0.60% or 47.04 points
Wednesday evening, a report from the South China Morning Post stated that China and the U.S. had made no progress on key trade issues during two days of deputy-level talks. These discussions, taking place in Washington D.C. earlier this week, reported showed Chinese officials neglecting talks about forced technology transfers, which is one of the main grievances the U.S. has against China's economic policy. The report also alleged that the talks did not discuss the issue of state subsidies, which President Donald Trump in the past believed gives Chinese companies an unfair advantage.
The only areas of focus the report said the delegators toughed on were agricultural purchases and intellectual property protection. Vice-Premier Liu He and his team also may leave earlier than expected, just like the last visit in September where Chinese Officials departed before visiting the U.S.'s farm belt.
Trump today tweeted: "Big day of negotiations with China. They want to make a deal, but do I? I meet with the Vice Premier tomorrow at The White House."
The news surrounding trade still weighs heavy on investors. If no progress is made during tomorrow's meeting between Trump and He, U.S. tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports will increase to 30% from 25% next week.
But there is hope for positive negotiations, for whenever Trump and He meet there has been a trend of trade tension easing. For instance, in January China increased purchases from U.S. soybean farmers and in February their meeting yielded delays in the next round of tariffs to give more time for discussion.
In sector news, every sector, besides Utilities -0.21%, has seen continuous growth, though the rate is slower than yesterday. Top gainers include Energy +1.35%, Financials +1.10% and Materials +1.05%, all of which are hoping to benefit from positive trade talks. Utilities has been negatively affected by the power outages in California that have entered their second day. PG&E Corporation
In commodity news, Brent Crude prices increased 1.68% to settle at $59.31 per barrel. In the same way, West Texas Intermediate is up 2.03% with a price set to $53.72 per barrel. Both barrel prices are in line with how oil was trading this time last year. Gold is currently priced at $1,493.70, which is a gain of 0.24%.