Stocks begin week on tentative note, as tariffs and earnings remain in focus
Stocks were cautiously higher on Monday, due to the ongoing trade war, while earnings season is starting to wind down.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39.60 points, or 0.16%, to 25,502.18. The S&P 500 was up 10.05 points, closing at 2,850.40. The Nasdaq Composite rallied 47.66 points, or %, to 7,859.68.
Chinese state media on Monday lambasted President Trump's trade policies in an unusually personal attack.
The latest criticism from the overseas edition of the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper singled out Trump, saying he was starring in his own “street fighter-style deceitful drama of extortion and intimidation.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 44782 | -128.65 | -0.29% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 6047.15 | +14.77 | +0.24% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 19403.947849 | +185.78 | +0.97% |
China on Friday said it's planning tariffs on about $60 billion worth of U.S. imports, saying that the measure is to “guard its interests and keep trade frictions from escalating.”
Meanwhile, sanctions are being reimposed on Iran, following the Trump administration’s decision in May to end the Iran nuclear deal. Monday marks the last day of the 90-day wind down period for some activities involving Iran that were allowed following the Obama-era U.S. sanctions relief that were part of the deal. Further sanctions will be reimposed in November.
The Iran nuclear deal granted Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
Commodities were mixed, but oil was higher.
It will be a relatively quiet week for economic news now that the monthly jobs report is out of the way.
Stocks rose Friday as traders digested the highly anticipated monthly jobs report while understanding the latest trade-related headlines.
The U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs in July, below the 190,000 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting. The unemployment rate fell to 3.9% from June's 4%. Monthly wage growth was 0.3%. Both wage growth and the unemployment rate met expectations.
FOX Business’ Ken Martin contributed to this article.