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US-STOCKS-MARKETS
US stocks edge lower ahead of G20
NEW YORK, June 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Wall Street stocks finished a choppy
session little changed Friday as markets cautiously eyed upcoming US-China
trade talks and rising tensions between the US and Iran.
Analysts said US stocks were due for a pause after a strong rally this
month amid more dovish commentary from the US Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week at 26,719.13, down 0.1
percent.
The broad-based S&P 500 retreated slightly from Thursday’s record,
slipping 0.1 percent to end at 2,950.46. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index
lost 0.2 percent to close at 8,031.71.
Markets are looking ahead to next week’s Group of 20 leaders’ summit in
Japan, particularly the meeting between US President Donald Trump and China’s
Xi Jinping that could lead to a breakthrough in the long-running US-China
trade dispute.
“We don’t know what is going to come out of the meeting, as long as you
can get China and the US to talk again, it is bullish,” said Karl Haeling of
LBBW.
“And if we can come up with a deal this summer, it would be even more
bullish for equities.”
Another wildcard is the latest escalation of tensions between the US and
Iran. Trump confirmed Friday that he called off a strike on Iran after the
country’s forces shot down a US drone, saying that he did not want to cause
mass casualties.
BSS/AFP/HR/1018