Wall Street Journal senior writer Jon Hilsenrath discusses the threat of a 2020 recession.
The S&P 500 reclaimed its record closing high on Friday, surpassing 3025.86, last reached in July.
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Technology, industrials and materials led the charge for sector winners as investor digested corporate earnings and more progress on U.S.-China trade talks.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 26955.21 | +149.68 | +0.56% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3019.17 | +8.88 | +0.29% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 8227.706249 | +41.91 | +0.51% |
Intel helped power the Dow Jones Industrials after lifting its full-year revenue outlook. While Amazon shares trimmed earlier losses after delivering a sales forecast that fell short of analyst expectations amid disappointing third-quarter results, Verizon bounced between gains and losses.
The Dow is roughly about 400 points away from returning to record territory.
So far, nearly 80 percent of S&P 500 companies have exceeded profit expectations, over 60 percent have exceeded revenue goals.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 1,749.61 | -31.17 | -1.75% |
| VZ | VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. | 60.10 | -0.47 | -0.78% |
| INTC | INTEL CORPORATION | 56.25 | +4.02 | +7.70% |
Investors are also pummeling PG&E. California’s utility giant disclosed that one of its power lines malfunctioned, perhaps contributing to the ongoing wildfires. More outages may take place over the weekend as severe weather and high winds slam the state. The stock was briefly halted to due volatility and reports that the collapse of the shares and bonds may complicate its bankruptcy, as reported by Dow Jones.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCG | PG & E CORP. | 5.26 | -1.94 | -26.88% |
As for the ongoing U.S. – China trade talks, the Chinese slammed Vice President Pence who was highly critical of the government in a speech yesterday. Beijing is pushing back against Pence’s recent criticisms of China’s human rights abuses, claiming his statements were “full of political prejudice and lies.” Pence, who called out China for its treatment of protestors and minorities on Thursday, also lambasted American businesses, including the NBA and Nike, for taking a soft stance on the government’s behavior.
U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators spoke today, as reported by FOX Business. At the conclusion of the call the following statement was released.
“United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke today with China’s Vice Premier Liu He on Phase One of the U.S.-China trade agreement. They made headway on specific issues and the two sides are close to finalizing some sections of the agreement. Discussions will go on continuously at the deputy level, and the principals will have another call in the near future.”
In commodities, gold and silver traded higher as investors rotated money into the safety of precious metals.
In economic news, consumer sentiment remains strong. The final read for October from University of Michigan came in at 95.5, slightly below September but the signal remains positive.
