President Trump says U.S.-China trade deal ‘very, very close,’ pushes U.S. stocks higher

“U.S. stocks rose on Monday after President Donald Trump said he would delay a planned hike in tariffs on Chinese imports and that the two countries were ‘very, very close’ to a trade deal,” Sinéad Carew reports for Reuters. “But Wall Street’s three major indexes pulled back from session highs as investors waited for new catalysts such as an actual deal with China. Before the market opened on Monday, Trump said he was optimistic a final trade deal could be reached with China but cautioned that an agreement may still not happen.”
“The U.S. president’s move to postpone the tariff deadline was seen as the clearest sign yet the two countries were closing in on an agreement to end their prolonged trade spat, which has slowed global growth and disrupted markets,” Carew reports. “‘The main driver for the market today is renewed optimism regarding a deal between the U.S. and China,’ said Adam Sarhan, chief executive officer of 50 Park Investments in New York.”

I am pleased to report that the U.S. has made substantial progress in our trade talks with China on important structural issues including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services, currency, and many other issues. As a result of these very……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2019

….productive talks, I will be delaying the U.S. increase in tariffs now scheduled for March 1. Assuming both sides make additional progress, we will be planning a Summit for President Xi and myself, at Mar-a-Lago, to conclude an agreement. A very good weekend for U.S. & China!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2019

China Trade Deal (and more) in advanced stages. Relationship between our two Countries is very strong. I have therefore agreed to delay U.S. tariff hikes. Let’s see what happens?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2019

“At 2:04 p.m. EST (1904 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 134.83 points, or 0.52 percent, to 26,166.64; the S&P 500 gained 10.41 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,803.08; and the Nasdaq Composite added 42.48 points, or 0.56 percent, to 7,570.03,” Carew reports. “The S&P technology index was up 0.6 percent, with the biggest boost from Apple Inc, gaining 0.7 percent. The Philadelphia semiconductor index climbed 1.3 percent as chip companies have a big exposure to China.”
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MacDailyNews Take: Hopefully, we’ll soon learn of a comprehensive U.S.-China trade deal that works for both countries.
I’m cognizant that in both the U.S. and China, there have been cases where everyone hasn’t benefited, where the benefit hasn’t been balanced. My belief is that one plus one equals three. The pie gets larger, working together. — Apple CEO Tim Cook, March 24, 2018
SEE ALSO:
Apple CEO Tim Cook optimistic about U.S.-China trade talks – February 12, 2019
President Trump says U.S. doing well in trade negotiations with China – January 23, 2019
China’s 2018 growth slows to 28-year low, more stimulus seen – January 22, 2019
Apple CEO Tim Cook: I’m very optimistic about U.S.-China trade talks – January 8, 2019
Advisor to President Trump: Apple’s sales should pick up when U.S.-China strike trade deal – January 3, 2019