Dow closes week with marginal losses. S&P and Nasdaq up about 0.5%

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Nasdaq the hardest hit

The S&P 500 failed to extend its recent winning streak, tumbling on Tuesday as a list of risk factors prompted caution among traders around the world.

A lower global growth forecast from the International Monetary Fund, White House rhetoric on potential tariffs on imports from the EU and the stubborn prospect of a disorderly withdrawal from the bloc by the UK muted the mood.

Wall Street’s S&P 500 finished 0.6 per cent lower, registering its first decline in nine sessions and scuppering what had been its longest winning streak since October 2017. All sectors with the exception of utilities, a typically defensive group, finished in the red on Tuesday.

The decline comes ahead of the release on Wednesday of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting, as well as the policy meeting for the European Central Bank.

The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 was down 0.3 per cent overall, with brisker moves for shares at the centre the Trump administration’s attention. Airbus lost just over 2 per cent after news that the US was considering putting tariffs on civilian aircraft as part of an $11bn series of measures aimed at EU products. Engine maker Rolls-Royce fell 1.1 per cent.

Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax 30 fell 0.7 per cent per cent and London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2 per cent.

Brent crude slipped from five-month highs which were touched as fighting in Libya intensified, raising the prospect of further supply-side tightening. Opec supply cuts, sanctions against Venezuela and Iran, and expectations of strengthening global demand helped push Brent over the $70 mark last Friday for the first time in 2019. It slipped back to $70.65 by the late afternoon New York time.

Nasdaq also higher. Dow ends lower by Boeing (down -4.4% on the day).

Some losers include:

Nasdaq leads the charge. Dow lags.

US stocks nudged their way higher on Thursday, extending their winning streak to a sixth day, as investors focused on the latest round of US-China trade talks.

Wall Street’s S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent, led by gains in the materials and energy sectors that offset weakness in technology and utilities. The rally handed the benchmark its first six-day winning streak since February 2018 and brought it to its highest level in almost six months.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average — boosted by Boeing’s 2.9 per cent gain — was up 0.6 per cent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was 0.1 per cent lower.

The moves came as Mr Trump said on Thursday that trade talks with China were going well and as negotiators worked to hash out a final deal on the trade dispute ahead of a meeting between the US president and the Chinese vice premier later in the day.

Despite the optimism on trade, investors remained on edge after Mr Trump threatened to seal the border with Mexico or impose new tariffs if the country does not do more to stem the flow of migrants and drugs into the US.

European bourses ended mixed on Thursday. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax 30 closed up 0.3 per cent at a new multi-month high, while the Europe-wide Stoxx 600 was 0.3 per cent weaker. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2 per cent, with the pound within its well-worn trading range — down 0.6 per cent at $1.3079 — as investors kept watch on the UK’s uncertain Brexit politics.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 added 1 per cent ahead of a national holiday, while the Topix in Tokyo eased back from a modest gain to end down 0.1 per cent.

The euro ticked down 0.1 per cent to $1.1233, taking a knock after further disappointing German economic data.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.2 per cent to close at its highest level since October 9, helped by a strong lead-in from European equities. The Wall Street benchmark had gained as much as 0.6 per cent during the session but trimmed those gains — briefly turning negative in the final hour of trading — as disappointing data on the US services sector damped sentiment.

The rally was particularly kind to chipmakers. Advanced Micro Devices led the way with an 8.5 per cent gain, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index hit a record high, amid hopes a trade truce with China would buoy chip demand.

In Europe, the continent-wide Stoxx 600 added 1 per cent and reached its highest level since late August. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax 30 gained 1.7 per cent. London’s FTSE 100 was up by a more mild 0.4 per cent.

The yield on 10-year US Treasuries crossed back up over 2.5 per cent as the improving sentiment toward growth drew investors out of the debt. It rose 4.1 basis points to 2.5205 per cent.

Brent crude neared $70 a barrel earlier in the session and towards a new high for 2019 on signs of falls in Opec production and growing confidence in the outlook for global growth. But in US trade it gave up some ground, settling 0.1 per cent lower at $69.31 a barrel.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 added 1.2 per cent, a one-year high. The gains for Chinese equities also come as a survey of China’s service sector found activity rose to a 14-month high in March, echoing improvements in the manufacturing sector.

Larry Kudlow, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said he expected “additional headway” would be made in talks that resumed in Washington on Wednesday