Investing.com - Stocks ended higher Friday, as bullish trade comments from President Donald Trump lifted stocks. But more cautious comments from Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin about future trade talks kept a lid on gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.44%, the S&P 500 gained 0.37%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.08%.
Mnuchin's somewhat sobering message on trade arrived on heels of positive remarks from Trump that trade talks would continue into the future. Trump also left the door open to possibly removing the latest round on hikes on goods imported from Beijing, which went into effect at midnight Friday.
"In the meantime, the United States has imposed Tariffs on China, which may or may not be removed depending on what happens with respect to future negotiations!," Trump said in a tweet.
The U.S. moved ahead with plans to hike tariffs on $200 billion dollars worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10%.
Trade-sensitive stocks like Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Boeing (NYSE:BA) ended the day flat.
Beyond trade, energy stocks ended the day modestly higher as U.S. oil prices recovered on bets for a potential drop in global supplies amid sanctions on Iran and ongoing conflict in Libya.
In tech, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) added to recent losses as investors worried that a rise in trade tensions between Washington and Beijing could hurt China's economy and dent consumer demand. Apple has slumped 6.9% over the last five days, its worst week of trading this year since Trump announced plans to hike tariffs on China.
On the earnings front, market participants had to contend with mixed quarterly results.
Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) plummeted 12.5% after CEO Greg Clark left the company in the wake of first-quarter earnings that fell short of Investing.com's consensus expectations and underwhelming guidance. Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB) ended higher despite mixed quarterly results amid a beat on the top line.
In other company news, Uber (NYSE:UBER) dropped 7.6% on its public market debut, closing below its IPO price of $45 per share.
In economic news, the Labor Department said on Friday its consumer price index rose 0.3% last month after rising 0.4% in March, strengthening the Federal Reserve's case to stick with its current pause on monetary policy.
Top S&P 500 Gainers and Losers Today:
Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG), Linde (NYSE:LIN) and News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) were among the top S&P 500 gainers for the session.
Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC), Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.