Solid Consumer Data Powered Up US Stocks for the Week

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The solid consumer data has powered up the US stock market on Friday, cutting the losses it experienced during the middle of the week.

After three consecutive down sessions, the major indices in the US cut their losses for the week after going back up on Friday, following a sting consumer data.

Amid the ongoing tensions regarding the trade negotiations between the US and China and the increasing doubts that an agreement will be reached before the year ends, the Wall Street stocks gained an upward momentum early on Friday. The increase came after the report made by the University of Michigan, which showed higher consumer confidence for the month of November. The previously anxious market players ate up this positive news in the economy, which powered up the session on Friday.

According to Adam Sarhan from the 50 Park Investments, with the peak of the holiday shopping season coming in weeks, the market has its focus on the sentiments from the US consumers. The solid consumer data affected the stocks positively, noting that US consumers make up about two-thirds of both the Wall Street and Main Street economy, especially as the holiday season is nearing.

Previously, the consecutive dips in the market this week was largely caused by the increasing anxiousness in market players after the conflicting comments from both the US and China regarding the trade agreement.

Further, the US President Trump added to the already ambiguous trade talks update by his statement on Friday saying that the two largest economies in the world are potentially nearing an agreement, but the US is not anxious to finalize the deal just yet. This comment from the president came after Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China is hoping to come to an agreement with the US about trade, but they are not afraid of fighting back becomes necessary.

The dispute between the US and China has negatively affected the global market for over a year now. Although the broad-based S&P 500 index ended the week with a 0.2% gain, it had already lost 0.3%.

On the other hand, the Euro stocks also ended Friday on a modest note. London was the biggest gainer in equity with Paris and Frankfurt following with more moderate gains. The modest gains came after the sobering data, which showed the stalling of the Eurozone’s economy after the decline in the manufacturing sector for successive months.

Overall, global stocks have been under pressure most sessions of the week amid the increasing uncertainty about the US-China trade negotiations.