U.S. markets extended a rally after dovish comments from a top Chinese official indicated that it would not retaliate, at least for now, on the latest increase in tariffs from the U.S.
Stocks were trading sharply higher by midday, helped by new comments from President Trump, who told Fox News Radio that talks had been scheduled Thursday "at a different level." He did not say what that means.
Earlier, Gao Feng, the spokesman for Ministry of Commerce Secretary, said in Beijing: “China has ample means for retaliation, but thinks the question that should be discussed now is about removing the new tariffs to prevent escalation of the trade war."
"The most important thing is to create the necessary conditions for continuing negotiations," Feng added, according to a translation by Bloomberg.
Those comments sent the Dow soaring 300 points at the open, which it was able to maintain into early afternoon, extending the volatility that has become the hallmark of what is typically among the quietest trading months of the year.
If the Dow were to close higher by 828 points between Thursday and Friday, it would end up higher for the month of August. The S&P would need to rise 92.5 points over the next two days to close up on the month.
Feng, the Chinese official, did not comment on President Trump's claim that the Chinese trade delegation called their American counterparts last weekend to express hopes of reaching a deal on tariffs. That statement came after a whipsaw few days in which China announced new tariffs on $75 billion U.S. goods. Trump retaliated by saying he would hike the tariff rates on Chinese exports, which sent stocks plunging.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Dow was trading back above where it was a week ago, before the latest tit-for-tat.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has announced that 100,000 businesses have signed up for a new database that collects ownership information intended to help unmask shell company owners. Yellen says the database will send the message that “the United States is not a haven for dirty money.”
A new version of the federal student aid application known as the FAFSA is available for the 2024-2025 school year, but only on a limited basis as the U.S. Department of Education works on a redesign meant to make it easier to apply.
A steep budget deficit caused by plummeting tax revenues and escalating school voucher costs will be in focus Monday as Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature return for a new session at the state Capitol.
The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years is on its way to the moon. The private lander from Astrobotic Technology blasted off Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, catching a ride on United Launch Alliance's brand new rocket Vulcan.
Global prices for food commodities like grain and vegetable oil fell last year from record highs in 2022, when Russia’s war in Ukraine, drought and other factors helped worsen hunger worldwide, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.
Wall Street is drifting higher after reports showed the job market remains solid, but key parts of the economy still don’t look like they’re overheating.
The Biden administration is docking more than $2 million in payments to student loan servicers that failed to send billing statements on time after the end of a pandemic payment freeze.
The nation’s employers added a robust 216,000 jobs last month, the latest sign that the American job market remains resilient even in the face of sharply higher interest rates.
A U.S. labor agency has accused SpaceX of unlawfully firing employees who penned an open letter critical of CEO Elon Musk and creating an impression that worker activities were under surveillance by the rocket ship company.
