Investing.com - Thursday was a day of waiting, a day where investor reluctance to make big bets was first and foremost.
The reason, of course, was that President Trump and China President Xi Jinping are supposed to talk about a possible trade deal Saturday at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. And it was hard to gauge how the talks will come out.
As a result, the S&P 500 closed up a modest 0.4%. The Dow fell 0.0.4%, held back by news of more problems with getting Boeing's (NYSE:BA) troubled 737 Max jet back into the air. Boeing fell 2.9% and subtracted 74 points from the Dow by itself. Boeing is off 18.4% from its all-time high of $446.01, reached just before the second of two fatal 737 Max crashes.
The Nasdaq Composite was up a more robust 0.7%, largely because of gains for chip stocks and drugstore chain Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA).
Investors were unsettled by Larry Kudlow, Trump's chief economic advisor. Kudlow said the U.S. could impose more tariffs on China if there isn't any progress. A day earlier, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said a trade deal was 90% done. At the same time, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday no deal was possible until the United States lifts its ban on technology sales to telecommunications giant Huawei. The Kudlow comments cut a Dow rally of as many as 71 points to a loss 10 points.
Offsetting the global trade uncertainty, small-cap stocks had a strong day. The Russell 2000 index US SmallCap 2000 rose 1.9%. Many of its components aren't vulnerable to trade disputes.
The waiting (and the uncertainty) extended to gold and oil prices, which were little changed. The August contract for gold futures settled down $3.40 to $1,412 an ounce. WTI crude futures finished up a whopping 5 cents to $59.43.
Interest rates in the United States were mostly lower. The U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield fell to 2.005% from Wednesday's 2.049%, still at levels last seen in the fall of 2016.
FedEx (NYSE:FDX) shares moved 2.1% lower after the package shipper warned that the trade disputes were affecting its business.
After the close, Nike (NYSE:NKE) shares slipped after the Dow component's fiscal fourth-quarter profit missed estimates. Revenue for the athletic-apparel-and-equipment maker, however, was higher.
Futures trading suggests a similar kind of trading day on Friday.
As of Thursday's close, the S&P 500 is up 6.3% for June and 3.2% for the second quarter. For the year, the index is up 16.7%. The Dow is up 6.9% for the month and 2.3% for the quarter while the year-to-date gain is 13.7%. The Nasdaq is up 6.9% for the month, 3.1% for the quarter and 20% for the year.