NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial average extended gains and the Nasdaq turned positive on Friday on reports of progress in talks between the United States and China and other trading partners.
Specialist trader Meric Greenbaum works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., August 17, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Chinese and U.S. negotiators are aiming for talks to end their trade spat ahead of meetings in November, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. And Mexico’s economy minister Ildefonso Guajardo said he hopes to conclude outstanding bilateral issues on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by the middle of next week.
“Any conversations we have with China to come up with a deal and any conversations we have with Mexico would be seen as a win for the U.S.,” said Jeffrey Frankel, president at Stuart Frankel & Co, in New York.
For the week, the S&P and the Dow were on track to post weekly gains, but the Nasdaq appeared on track to show a loss.
Bleak forecasts from Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) and Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O) pushed the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index .SOX 0.7 percent lower.
Among the so-called FAANG group of momentum stocks, all but Apple Inc (AAPL.O) were down.
Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) was trading 0.4 percent lower as its employees called for more transparency and oversight of the company’s China search engine.
Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) was on its way to posting its sixth consecutive loss. The FAANG group also includes
