Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange April 30, 2019. — Reuters pic
NEW YORK, May 8 — After two straight declines spurred by trade war fears, Wall Street stocks were mildly positive early today on the eve of a key round of US-China talks.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had edged up 0.1 per cent to 25,980.89.
The broad-based S&P 500 added less than 0.1 per cent at 2,885.16, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also gained 0.1 per cent to 7,973.35.
Stocks fell the last two sessions after US President Donald Trump threatened to more than double the existing tariffs on China starting Friday, after accusing Beijing of backing off commitments in the months-long talks.
But negotiations are set to resume in Washington tomorrow and Friday, and Trump raised expectations for a successful conclusion after all.
“China has just informed us that they (Vice-Premier) are now coming to the US to make a deal,” Trump said on Twitter, referring to top Chinese trade envoy Liu He.
“We’ll see but I am very happy with over US$100 Billion a year in Tariffs filling US coffers...great for US, not good for China!” Trump tweeted, repeating the erroneous statement that tariffs are paid by China, rather than by American businesses and consumers. — AFP