U.S. stocks traded in a mixed manner Friday, stabilizing to a degree from the previous session’s losses after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled a softer stance to trade negotiations with China, boosting sentiment after investors had been hit by worries over the health of the country’s regional lenders.
At 09:45 ET (13:45 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 25 points, or 0.1%, higher, while the S&P 500 indexdropped 25 points, or 0.4%, and the NASDAQ Composite dropped 115 points, or 0.5%.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government shutdown, now in its third week, continued to weigh on confidence, disrupting economic data releases and raising concerns about near-term growth.
Softer trade stance with China
President Donald Trump indicated Friday that the high tariffs imposed on Chinese goods will not remain in place long-term, signaling a potential shift in U.S.-China trade relations ahead of his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"It’s not sustainable," Trump said in an interview with Fox Business when asked whether the current tariff levels could remain. "It could stand, but they forced me to do that."
Trump revealed he will meet with Xi in South Korea in two weeks, suggesting the encounter could lead to trade negotiations. "I think we’ll be fine with China," Trump stated during the interview, a clip of which aired Friday.
The comments come after Trump threatened last week to impose additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods starting November 1, along with other trade measures against China. These threats were in response to Chinese restrictions on rare earth mineral exports.
