US Equity Indexes Rise Despite Surging Bond Yields as US Nears Tariff Deal With Canada
US equity indexes rose markedly on Friday, even as bond yields continued to rise after Canada's trade minister Dominic LeBlanc reportedly said the countries are "very close" to finalizing a deal before the Saturday midnight deadline.LeBlanc met US trade representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday and said the two sides were close to finalizing a deal, but added that more work was required, according to a Friday Reuters report.President Donald Trump said in a Thursday Truth Social post that he paused tariffs on certain Canadian goods, adding that the canceled Keystone XL Pipeline may also be revived.In a separate Truth Social post on Friday, Trump said that he had closed a deal to "substantially" lower the price of ground beef for US consumers and will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of the commodity to be imported with no out-of-quota tariff.The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% to 26,180.4, and the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 7,674.3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% to 53,276.8. Materials and financial sectors led the gainers, while utilities and energy led the decliners.The yield on 30-year Treasuries rose 3.7 basis points to 5.274%, while the 10-year yield gained 3.8 basis points to 4.736%.The US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract fell 0.2% to $86.64 per barrel.In economic news, Bureau of Labor Statistics data revealed that the unemployment rate fell in 10 US States in July and remained steady elsewhere. The largest unemployment rate declines were observed in South Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Washington, Pennsylvania, New York, and Rhode Island.The August flash reading of manufacturing conditions from S&P Global fell to 53.2 from 53.9 in July, compared with expectations for no change in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The index for services conditions rose to 56.8 in August from 54.6 in July, compared with expectations for a decrease to 54.Gold futures gained 2.3% to $4,677.3 per ounce, and silver futures rose 2% to $69.495.Jupiter Neurosciences (JUNS) shares rose 16% after it said it priced a direct offering of 307,692 shares for gross proceeds of $2 million. The offering is expected to occur Aug. 24, with D. Boral Capital as placement agent.In equity news, Ross Stores (ROST) shares rose 4.4%, a day after the company posted a Q2 beat and raise. The company reported fiscal Q2 earnings late Thursday of $2.66 per diluted share, up from $1.56 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.95. Revenue for the three months ended Aug. 1 rose to $6.26 billion from $5.53 billion a year earlier. Analysts projected $6.16 billion. The company boosted its full-year EPS guidance to $8.61 to $8.77 from the prior forecast of $7.50 to $7.74. Analysts project $7.89.RF Acquisition Corp II (RFAI) shares rose more than 350% after the company's shareholders approved its merger with Nanyang Biologics at an extraordinary general meeting, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
