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US open: Stocks edge higher amid tensions with China, Russia
Wall Street is registering slight gains on the back of upbeat data on US manufacturing, apparently brushing off simmering tensions on the trade front with China and on the geopolitical side of things with the Russian Federation.
At 1512 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was climbing 1.09% or 271.52 points to 25,028.58, alongside a rise of 0.37% or 10.04 points to 2,759.52 for the S&P 500 and a gain of 0.31% or 22.92 points to 7,519.45 on the Nasdaq Composite.
Acting as a backdrop, stocks had ended the previous session lower amid renewed worries about a trade war as President Trump looked to impose fresh tariffs on China.
According to reports, Trump was looking to levy tariffs on up to $60bn of Chinese imports, with a focus on technology, telecoms and apparel.
That was followed on Thursday by the US Treasury Department's decision to impose sanctions on several Russian citizens and two of its security services for meddling in the 2016 president elections.
"Markets are digesting the implications of a US-led trade war and further sanctions against Russia. The US has announced new sanctions as part of its ongoing effort to pressure the Russian government. Investors have been awaiting an official Russian response to a multilateral condemnation of Russia's alleged role in the UK chemical attack. Geopolitical tension was always short-lived and a dip-buying opportunity last year. In this new higher volatility environment, it is not clear if that remains the case," commented Jasper Lawler, head of research at LCG.
On a more positive note, North Korea's top diplomat was in Sweden to prepare the ground for a possible summit between his country's leader and the US president.
In economic news, economists hailed strong readings for the Empire State and Philly Fed regional manufacturing indices, with a gauge of new orders linked to the latter jumping from a reading of 24.5 points for February to 35.7 in March.
"Weighting the subindexes to match the structure of the national ISM index shows that the Philly numbers are consistent, at least, with the 14-year high in the ISM, reached in February; it was not a fluke. In short, the surveys signal that a robust manufacturing upswing continues unabated," commented Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Following the release of those reports, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was moving higher by two basis points to 2.82%.
On the corporate front, stock in Solid Biosciences was cratering on the heels of a Food and Drug Administration decision to halt a clinical trial following an adverse reaction in one of the patients.
Elsewhere, Dollar General's shares rallied as its fourth-quarter same-store sales beat expectations and the discount retailer provided an upbeat outlook.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals was among the op gainers after saying its experimental drug to treat patients with a rare blood disorder met its main goal in a late-stage study.
Home Security company ADT was also in the spotlight with shares crashing despite the release of its fourth-quarter results, which showed it swung to a profit as revenue rose.