U.S. stocks edge higher as China and U.S. announce trade deal
Updated 13:14, 14-Dec-2019
CGTN

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged higher Friday, as the United States and China announced an initial trade agreement, cooling tensions that have rattled markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.33 points, or 0.01 percent, to 28,135.38. The S&P 500 rose 0.23 points, or 0.01 percent, to 3,168.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 17.56 points, or 0.20 percent, to 8,734.88.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent for the week, its ninth rise in the past 10 weeks.

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U.S.-listed Chinese firms trade mostly higher

Chinese companies listed in U.S. traded mostly higher on Friday with seven of the top 10 stocks in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

ZTO Express stock rose 2.71 percent, outpacing the rest in the top 10 stocks in the index. Shares of both Yum China Holdings and Trip.com Group climbed 1.72 percent, also among the best performers.

Brexit and trade disputes, two major concerns of the market

"The risk of trade (dispute) escalation has been averted for now, and that's a positive," said Sunitha Thomas, regional portfolio advisor at Northern Trust Wealth Management in Chicago, U.S.

Investors were also digesting Prime Minister Boris Johnson's commanding victory in the British election, which could bring more clarity to the country's planned exit from the European Union.

"We got confirmation today that two major risks that have been weighing on the market all year have been lifted, for now at least," Thomas said.

"The market is not up more because we have had some of the rally coming into it, and I think there is now a recognition that there needs to be policy follow-through on the negotiation of Brexit and also what really the details of this deal between China and the U.S. are," he added.

(With input from Xinhua and Reuters. CGTN's John Terrett contributed to the story.)