US Markets
Stocks Fall Pre-Bell as Traders Weigh Trump-Xi Meeting Outcomes
The benchmark US stock measures were tracking in the red before the open Friday as traders evaluate the outcomes of President Donald Trump's high-stakes meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.The S&P 500 declined 1.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.8% and the Nasdaq dropped 1.7% in premarket activity. The indexes finished the previous trading session up, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq logging record closing highs for the second straight day.Trump reportedly concluded his two-day visit to Beijing on Friday after holding policy discussions with Xi on trade, tariffs and technology, among other matters. In a pre-recorded interview with Fox News, Trump said China has agreed to purchase oil from the US, CNBC reported."They've agreed they want to buy oil from the US," Trump reportedly said. "They're going to go to Texas, we're going to start sending Chinese ships to Texas and to Louisiana and to Alaska."China hasn't confirmed the energy purchases, according to the CNBC report.West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 3.4% to $104.56 a barrel before the opening bell, while Brent was up 2.7% to $108.61.Trump said he and Xi agreed during their meeting that Iran shouldn't have a nuclear weapon and that the crucial Strait of Hormuz should reopen, Bloomberg News reported. The Trump administration has reportedly signaled its interest in getting China's help to push Iran into talks to end the conflict in the Middle East, but Beijing remains cautious."The market could be pinning too much hope on the US-China talks yielding some positive results on Iran," ING Bank said in a note on Thursday. "Some hope that China could exert pressure on Iran to reach a deal with the US, to end the war and lead to a resumption of energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz."Treasury yields were trending higher in premarket action, with the two-year rate increasing 6.2 basis points to 4.05% and the 10-year rate adding 8.1 basis points to 4.54%.Friday's economic calendar has the Empire State manufacturing index for May at 8:30 am ET, followed by the industrial production report for April at 9:15 am. The weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count is out at 1 pm.US retail sales in April rose for the third straight month, with analysts saying the increase largely reflected higher prices as the war in Iran kept fuel costs elevated.Inflation has become the "most pressing risk" to the US economy, Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid said Thursday."While inflation has moderated significantly from its peak, in my discussions with business leaders across the Tenth District, it is clear that it is still too high," Schmid said in prepared remarks for a conference.Applied Materials (AMAT) shares fell 3.2% pre-bell, even though the semiconductor equipment maker reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results.Gold slipped 2.8% to $4,556 per troy ounce, while bitcoin moved down 0.9% to $80,741.
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