US markets settled with modest gains as investors digested a host of US-China trade headlines - Dow up +45-points or +0.17% and extending its winning streak into a seventh straight session. The index closed to within 0.6% of of its all time high (27,398.68) set on 16 July. The broader S&P500 added +0.29%, with Materials (up +0.72%) leading nine of the eleven primary sectors higher. The technology-centric NASDAQ rose +0.30%. Bloomberg News reported that the White House was contemplating a limited trade deal with China. In return for promises on agricultural purchases and intellectual-property issues, the U.S. would delay and take away some tariffs on Chinese imports. However, a senior White House official later denied the report to CNBC, saying that the Trump administration was "absolutely not" considering an interim trade deal with China. Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that Beijing was looking to split trade negotiations into two tracks, separating the more thornier national security issues from less contentious trade concerns, in the hopes of advancing stalled trade talks with the US.
