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.
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
