US open: Stocks attempt rebound after Trump predicts swift end to trade war
Wall Street equities rallied at the open on Friday following some positive news on the trade front, with the President indicating he would be willing to ease restrictions on Chinese telco giant Huawei as part of a broader trade agreement.
As of 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.45% at 25,605.04, while the S&P 500 was ahead 0.43% at 2,834.45 and the Nasdaq was trading 0.68% higher at 7,680.16.
The Dow opened 114 points higher ahead of the Memorial Day long weekend as Donald Trump indicated that a trade deal with Beijing could lift the newly instituted restrictions on the Chinese firm.
"If we made a deal, I can imagine Huawei being included in some form or some part of a trade deal," Trump told White House reporters on Thursday as he predicted a swift end to the ongoing trade tensions.
Elsewhere, a separate report revealed the Commerce Department was considering tariffs on nations that undervalued their currencies to the disadvantage of US firms.
While no countries met Commerce's specific criteria at this time, Washington has considered China a manipulator of its yuan for a while now.
On the data front, durable goods orders in the US dropped sharply last month, weighed down by falls in those for automobiles and parts, civilian aircraft and for telecommunications equipment, with some economists concluding that the data reinforced the argument for the Federal Reserve to cut rates.
According to the US Department of Commerce, total orders for goods made to last more than three years fell at a month-on-month pace of 2.1% in April to reach $248.4bn - a slightly larger decline than the 2% predicted by economists.
Elsewhere, new orders for US-made capital goods fell more than expected in April, providing further evidence that manufacturing and the broader economy were slowing.
The Commerce Department revealed that orders for non-defence capital goods excluding aircraft dropped 0.9% in April as demand weakened almost across the board.
Data for March was revised down to show a rise of 0.3% instead of the increase of 1.0% previously reported.
In corporate news, shares in US retailer Foot Locker tumbled 16.31% in early trading after posting weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Friday, leading it to trim its full-year profit guidance.
Snapchat parent company Snap saw shares rise 5.44% at the bell after news broke that the social media service was in talks with major record labels to allow users to add music to their posts, while software outfit Autodesk slumped 5.57% on the back of its surprise first-quarter loss.