Stocks - Wall Street Mixed as Trade Uncertainty Outweighs Strong Tech Earnings
Investing.com – Wall Street was mixed on Thursday as U.S-China trade doubts resurfaced, outweighing strong earnings from some of the biggest names in the technology sector.
The Dow was down 43 points or 0.2% by 9:39 AM ET (13:39 GMT), while the S&P 500 fell 3 points or 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite rose 14 points or 0.2%.
A report by Bloomberg cast doubt over the course of the U.S.-China trade dispute, alleging that Chinese officials are reluctant to commit to any long-term deal with President Donald Trump, whom they see as unreliable. That's despite both countries saying they had made substantial progress to a preliminary deal in the coming weeks. The report repeated familiar grumbles by Chinese officials resisting the structural reforms demanded by the U.S., which include state subsidies and protection for intellectual property rights.
The news overshadowed upbeat results from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), and others in the three months through September.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose 1.8% as iPad and AirPod sales cushioned a drop in iPhone sales in the final quarter of its fiscal year, while upbeat earnings from Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) helped their stocks rise 5.2% and 0.9% respectively. Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) gained 4% as its earnings came in better than expected, with the ride-sharing company losing less money than forecast in the last quarter.
Elsewhere, Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) fell 1.7%, while Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) tumbled 11% on news that its CEO Steve Milligan plans to retire.
Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) added another 4.0% to Wednesday's gains after the terms of its agreed merger with Peugeot were published, envisaging a special dividend for Fiat shareholders of over $6 billion and ascribing more value than expected to its Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands.
In commodities, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.3% to 97.180 and gold futures jumped 0.9% to $1,510.10 a troy ounce. Crude oil futures fell 0.9% to $54.58 a barrel.
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