US stocks edged higher on Monday as hopes of easing tensions between the US and China rose after the first day of renewed trade talks between the two countries wrapped up on an upbeat note.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.1%, with the benchmark a little more than 2% off its all-time closing high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was flat, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained about 0.3%.
High-level US-China trade talks began in London on Monday and were set to continue on Tuesday, after a phone call between President Trump and Chinese President Xi took place last week.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that “we are doing well with China,” adding “China’s not easy.” “I’m only getting good reports,” Trump said.
The stakes of the negotiations are high given warnings that tariff barriers will harm economies worldwide — and the US in particular. Investors are looking for a revival of the momentum shown in the Geneva pact in mid-May. Relations between the two countries have soured since then, with the US and China accusing each other of not keeping to the trade truce and ratcheting up pressures in other areas.
For now, markets appear to have shaken off the volatility that has plagued markets following Trump’s early-April tariff hikes. Stocks ended last week on a high note, as encouraging jobs data helped ease fears of a recession fueled by his policy overhaul.
The economic highlight this week is the May US consumer inflation print due on Friday, with the wholesale inflation report ushering it in on Thursday.
On the corporate front, Apple (AAPL) announced a sweeping revamp of its iOS operating system at the iPhone maker’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference. The new interface called Liquid Glass was designed to make the software feel more responsive across the company’s hardware lines.