Stocks rose on Thursday, led by strong gains in the energy sector, but overall gains were limited by declines in Wal-Mart and Cisco Systems, as well as interest rates at their highest in several years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17 points, while the S & P 500 and the Nasdaq rose 0.2% each. Shares in energy firms rose 1.4 percent as Brent crude futures reached $80 a barrel, amid fears of a drop in Iranian exports, further easing supply. The rise in oil puts the exchange-traded fund of the selected energy sector on track for the first time in 10 consecutive days since 2006.
However, Cisco and Wal-Mart fell 2.7% and 1.6%, respectively. Cisco fell after announcing weaker-than-expected sales of its main business while Wal-Mart fell despite better-than-expected earnings reports. High rates also led to equity gains, and 10-year benchmark Treasury yields fell over 3.1% for the first time since 2011, while the two-year yield swings around its highest level in a decade.
Investors are selling Treasuries amid concerns that rising inflation could lead the Fed to tighten monetary policy faster than market expectations. The United States and China have started the second round of trade talks, and US and Chinese officials have pointed out that the gap between the two countries is large. The US side said they wanted us to reduce a certain amount of deficit within a limited time. This is not something the government can do through administrative intervention.
Tensions have risen between the United States and China in recent months, with both countries “attacking” each other with various tariffs targeting some of their counterparts’ exports. The United States also banned companies from exporting goods to Chinese technology companies ZTE. These tensions have raised fears that the world’s two largest economies could get into a trade war. However, President Donald Trump pledged on Sunday to help ZTE back to work quickly, signaling the fact that the tensions could improve.
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