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US open: Stocks go green as bond yields climb back from record lows

By Iain Gilbert

Date: Friday 16 Aug 2019

US open: Stocks go green as bond yields climb back from record lows

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks opened higher on Friday as investors remained focused on the bond market and US-China trade relations.
As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.85% at 25,797.60, while the S&P 500 was ahead 1.10% at 2,878.83 and the Nasdaq Composite started off the session 1.29% stronger at 7,866.60..

The Dow opened 218.21 points higher on Friday following a mixed session the day before as a result of a strong set of results from Walmart and some positive economic data, which helped to offset worries over China vowing to counter the latest round of tariffs from the White House.

While Thursday\'s session ended on a mostly positive note, sentiment remained highly volatile as worries about a weaker global economy and US-Sino relations were keep traders on the edge of their seats.

Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was of the opinion that the US and China\'s trade dispute would be a relatively short one, stating that China wanted to reach a deal.

Falling bond yields, which rattled markets during the week, climbed back slightly from their historic lows on Friday, easing some recession fears.

Geopolitics were still in focus after the US said it was revoking visas for the crew of an Iranian oil tanker that has been released from detention in Gibraltar as Tehran denied it had given assurances the vessel would not sail to Syria.

On the data front, residential building activity slowed a tad last month, but not in the key segment of single-family homes and a lead indicator for the sector outpaced economists\' expectations.

According to the Department of Commerce, US housing starts declined at a month-on-month pace of 4.0% for an annualised pace of 1.191m (consensus: 1.260m) and building permits for single-family homes rose for a third month in a row.

Elsewhere, US consumer sentiment fell to 92.1 in August, according to preliminary data from the University of Michigan.

The figure was well below Wall Street\'s expectations for a preliminary read on August consumer sentiment of 97 and down from the July figure of 98.4.

In corporate news, Deere & Co picked up 3.17% despite cutting its full-year guidance for a second consecutive quarter ahead as trade and weather disruptions battered sales of its tractors, while Nvidia jumped 8% at the open on the back of some better-than-expected second-quarter figures.

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