INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Wall Street halted a record run on Friday as United States President Donald Trump contradicted reports that the United States and China
would roll back existing tariffs.
The S-P 500 and Dow Jones indexes had closed at all-time highs on Thursday after officials said both
countries had agreed to roll back tariffs on each others' goods in a "phase one" trade deal if it is completed.
But Trump said on Friday he
had not agreed to roll back the tariffs, although Beijing would like him to do so
The news sent all three major United States stock indexes sharply lower, but they quickly recovered to trade near flat.
"Investors
somewhere knew that there was an existing issue regarding the rollback of these tariffs and with record highs being set, a little
consolidation is to be expected," said Michael Geraghty, capital market strategist at Cornerstone Capital Group in New York.
Seven of the 11
major S-P 500 sectors were trading lower, with the energy sector shedding 1.51% as oil prices fell
Trade-sensitive technology stocks dropped 0.11%.
Still, the S-P 500 is on track for its best year since 2013, while the Nasdaq and blue-chip
Dow are eyeing yearly gains after dropping in 2018, partly propelled by a rosy third-quarter earnings season.
Of the 430 S-P 500 companies
that have reported results so far, nearly three quarters have beaten profit estimates, according to IBES data from Refinitiv
Those numbers, to some extent, reflect significantly lowered analysts' forecasts.
Walt Disney Co gained 3.96% as its popular theme parks and
a remake of "The Lion King" lifted earnings, and the company also spent less than it had projected on its online streaming service,
ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 52.84 points, or 0.19%, at 27,621.96 and the S-P 500 was down 2.47 points, or 0.08%, at
The Nasdaq Composite was up just 5.28 points, or 0.06%, at 8,439.80.
Among other stocks, Gap Inc tumbled 8.14% after it said Chief Executive
Art Peck would leave the company, a surprise exit in the middle of a restructuring
The apparel retailer also slashed its full-year earnings forecast.
Activision Blizzard Inc fell 1.36% after the video game publisher
forecast fourth-quarter adjusted revenue below estimates, as it faces stiff competition from online and free-to-play games.
Energy drinks
maker Monster Beverage was up 3.53% after posting a better-than-expected third-quarter profit and announcing a $500 million share buyback
plan.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.14-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S-P index
recorded 14 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and 59 new lows.
