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US-STOCKS-MARKETS
US stocks edge lower ending streak of gains
NEW YORK, Nov 30, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – After rising the last three sessions,
Wall Street fell modestly on Thursday ahead of key US-China trade talks at
this weekend’s G-20 meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.1 percent at 25,338.84.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent to 2,737.80, while the tech-
rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.3 percent to 7,273.08.
Major US stock indices had jumped more than two percent on Wednesday after
investors took a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to mean the
central bank might not raise interest rates much higher, a shift from earlier
statements seen as more hawkish.
Fed minutes released Thursday showed the US central bank still expected to
hike rates again in December.
But policymakers may be divided over what to do after that, with some
worried that raising rates after December could “unduly slow” the American
economy, just as signs of vulnerability are beginning to gather, the minutes
showed.
Markets have been on edge over tariff announcements between the United
States and Chia and threats reiterated this week of additional US tariffs on
Chinese goods.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday a trade deal with Beijing was
“close” but added he might prefer not to reach one, cooling hopes for a
breakthrough at a summit this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Uncertainty around the Trump-Xi meeting is probably why we’re not up
more,” Bill Lynch, director of investment at Hinsdale Associates, said
shortly before the closing bell on Thursday when stocks were still higher.
Among individual companies, Dollar Tree gained 6.1 percent after reporting
a 17.5 percent jump in third-quarter profits to $281.8 million.
BSS/AFP/HR/1000