Lingering uncertainty around the trade negotiations between the US and China left the benchmark US equity indices modestly lower and nursing weekly losses - Dow eked out a +1-point gain, with gains for Boeing (up +2.1%) and Carterpillar (+%) and The broader S&P500 eased -0.26%, Nordstrom Inc tumbled almost -11% after the retailer weaker-than-expected first quarter same store sales after the close of Thursday's (17 May) session. NASDAQ -0.38%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 Index inched +2-points higher to 1,627.24 to book its third consecutive record closing high (and a +1.3% weekly advance). However, the US and China released a joint statement on Saturday (19 May) agreeing to officially de-escalate the 'trade wars'. The statement said that "China will significantly increase purchases of US goods and services", while "both sides agreed on meaningful increases in United States agriculture and energy exports". The statement also said that "the delegation also discussed expanding trade in manufactured goods and services" and that "both sides agreed to encourage two-way investment and to strive to create a fair, level playing field for competition". The statement did not reference any offer by China to cut its trade surplus with the US by US$200B as had been speculated by some news outlets last Friday (18 May). China's Global Times summed up the agreement yesterday (20 May) by paraphrasing China's trade envoy, Vice Premier Liu, in writing that "the two sides agreed not to launch a trade war and to stop slapping tariffs against each other, which are the most remarkable fruits of consultations". For the week, the Dow and S&P500 both fell -0.5%, while the Nasdaq pulled back -0.7%.
