U.S. stock futures pushed higher on Monday, after President Donald Trump tweeted that he will delay China tariffs, and that there had been “substantial progress” in trade talks over the weekend.
How are stock indexes faring?
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMH9, +0.40% rose 102 points, or 0.4%, to 26,106, while S&P 500 futures ESH9, +0.32% ESH9, +0.32% gained 8.8 points, or 0.3%, to 2,800.25. Nasdaq-100 futures NQH9, +0.42% added 30.75 points, or 0.4%, to 7,119.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.70% rose 181.18 points, or 0.7%, to 26,031.81, finishing above the 26,000 mark for the first time since Nov. 8. The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.64% rose 0.6% to 2,792.67 and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.91% advanced 0.9% to 7,527.54.
The Dow rose 0.6% for its ninth straight week of gains, the longest such run since May 1995, according to the Dow Jones Data Group. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6%, up for a fourth straight week, and the Nasdaq moved up 0.7%, for its ninth weekly gain, its longest since May 2009.
Read: it is the best start for the stock market in 32 years by one measure — so why is Wall Street so uneasy?
What drove the market?
Trade-headlines dominated the action to start the week, with global equities climbing after Trump tweeted late Sunday that he will extend a deadline for increasing tariffs on China imports, scheduled for March 1. He cited “substantial progress” across key topics such as intellectual property, technology transfers, agriculture and currency, and said if that continues, he will meet with President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago to wrap up a deal.
Opinion: History suggests you should buy the dip if stocks falter at this level
The comments came after U.S. and Chinese negotiators held talks through the weekend in a bid to resolve a long-running trade war. China stocks were poised for their strongest one-day session since mid 2015. Still, state-owned Xinhua News Agency said in an opinion commentary that the latest round of talks show “there are still some differences that need more time to be ironed out.”
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
A busy week for data will include a slew of figures delayed by the partial government shutdown, but investors will zero in on fourth-quarter gross domestic product data, expected to confirm signs that the economy slowed late in 2018. For Monday, investors will get the Chicago Fed national activity index for January at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, along with wholesale inventories for December at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Read: Experts fear a 1960s-style rerun of the Fed letting inflation build up
What are strategists saying?
“Let’s not forget that this isn’t a deal. Progress has been made but reports also suggest that there is still some ground to be covered before the Summit between President Trump and China’s Xi Jinping. Traders are acutely aware that talks will be harder in this final sage,” said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, in a note to clients.
What stocks are in focus?
Spark Therapeutics Inc. ONCE, +1.88% could be active after Roche Holding AG ROG, -0.65% said it would buy the biotechnology company in an all-cash deal worth $5.8 billion. Roche will pay $114.50 per Spark share, a premium of 122% to its closing price on Feb. 22.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.A, -1.92% BRK.B, -1.67% may be active after Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett released his investment letter over the weekend. The conglomerate swung to a $25.4 billion loss in the fourth quarter, partly due to an unexpected write-down for Kraft Heinz Co. KHC, -27.46% .
Shares of Kraft Heinz Co. KHC, -27.46% plunged 27% on Friday, the worst session ever after disappointing earnings and news of a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Kraft may be back in focus on Monday after CNBC reported that the company may consider selling its Maxwell House coffee unit for $3 billion or more, one of potentially several planned divestitures.
Shake Shack Inc. SHAK, -0.09% , Etsy Inc. ETSY, +6.86% and Tenet Healthcare Corp. THC, +0.62% will all report after the close of trading on Monday.
How were other markets trading?
Lifted by trade headlines, the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, +5.60% closed up 5.6% on Monday, its best gain since mid-2015, according to Fact Set Research. Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK, +0.48% however, shed 0.2%. European stocks were posting more modest gains, with the Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, +0.33% up 0.2%
In commodity markets, oil CLJ9, -0.21% prices slipped, while gold GCJ9, -0.18% and the U.S. dollar DXY, -0.06% were also softer.
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