President Donald Trump wants the U.S. and China to strike a deal in hopes of boosting Wall Street stock prices ahead of the 2020 election.
Earlier this week, sources told CNBC the U.S. and China were in the “final stages” of trade talks, with the two sides planning a Mar-a-Lago summit for the end of the month. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said Monday he thought Washington and Beijing were “on the cusp” of reaching a deal.
Wall Street Stocks are off to a hot start this year, with the S&P 500 rising more than 11 percent through Tuesday’s close. Increasing expectations that a trade deal will get done have partly helped equities surge in 2019.
However, there is growing fear that an agreement may be fully priced in, possibly limiting any more gains from positive trade news.
Recently, the S&P 500 has had trouble making a significant break above 2,800, a key level being watched by investors. The broad index closed above that level on Friday, but fell back below it this week.
Wall Street Investors also digested key economic data on Wednesday. ADP and Moody’s Analytics said private payrolls rose by 183,000 in February. Economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast a gain of 185,000. January payrolls were revised higher by 87,000 to 300,000.
Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit increased to a 10-year high of $59.8 billion despite the administration’s efforts to reduce the number. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv expected the number to increase to $57.3 billion.
General Electric shares fell more than 7 percent after J.P. Morgan analyst Stephen Tusa said in a note the company’s stock is overvalued given the hurdles it faces over the next two years. Tusa kept his price target at $6 per share, noting that “looks generous” at this time.
