NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P and Nasdaq fell on Thursday as the technology sector snapped a rally while investors turned to safer bets as they kept an eye on global trade tensions and waited for U.S. and European central bank meetings.
U.S. Treasury prices rose on Thursday, as trade disputes between the United States and its major trade partners were in focus ahead of the Group of Seven (G7) summit.
Investors worried about a showdown at the meeting, set for Friday and Saturday in Charlevoix, Quebec after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled that he would stick to his tough stance on trade after imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union last week.
“There’s caution associated with the G7 meeting which historically is neutral for the market. This G7 meeting doesn’t fit the template particularly with regard to trade,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.
Canada and Mexico have retaliated against a range of U.S. exports and the EU has promised to do so as well.
“Equally there’s a European Central Bank meeting and a Federal Reserve meeting next week. Both are paramount for the market’s direction,” said Krosby.
The Fed is widely expected to announce an interest rate hike on Wednesday but investors are looking for clues on whether the U.S. central bank will raise rates a fourth time in 2018.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 95.02 points, or 0.38 percent, to 25,241.41, the S&P 500 lost 1.98 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,770.37.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 54.17 points, or 0.7 percent, to
