Wall Street stepped back into stocks Monday after President Trump signaled — yet again — that he wants to work out a trade deal with China.
Early Monday, President Trump told reporters that the two countries would be “getting back to the table” to try to hammer out a trade deal. It was enough for markets, which were walloped Friday on Trump’s tough talk on trade, to end Monday’s trading session in the green.
Although traders have been watching trade tensions intensify and cool for a good 18 months, they want to believe that Trump is hesitant to let stocks drop too much on his watch, watchers said.
“Friday’s downdraft could have gotten Trump’s attention,” Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Capital Management said. Adding to pressure for a trade truce were Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments Friday that the central banks lacks a “rulebook” for international trade, Ablin added.
The Dow Jones industrial average popped 303.92 points moments after the open before settling up 269.93 points — or 1.1% — at 25,898.83 on signs of easing tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively.
“Part of today’s rally is that we sold off so much on Friday … so even if you get a headline that seems superfluous in nature that’s enough to send us green,” said Michael Antonelli, managing director at Baird. “Right now the market [is a] dog being led around by its leash.”