S&P 500 ends slightly up; traders watch US-China trade talks

The S&P 500 ended slightly higher on Monday, lifted by Amazon and Alphabet, while investors watched U.S.-China negotiations aimed at mending a trade dispute that has rattled financial markets for much of the year.

Top officials from both countries have kicked off discussions, looking to get back on track with a preliminary trade agreement struck last month that had briefly cooled tensions between the world’s largest economies.

“The market deems any dialogue with Beijing as progress, whether or not it leads to tangible results. The market is just going to take the administration’s word for it, until proven otherwise.” said Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Amazon and Google parent Alphabet each gained and helped lift the S&P 500.

Amazon.com said it plans to invest at least $20 billion in Pennsylvania to expand data center infrastructure, adding to the billions of dollars the technology giant has committed to the expansion of artificial intelligence.

Apple dipped after the iPhone maker kicked off its annual software developer conference with incremental developments that did little to impress investors.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 3.84 points, or 0.06%, to end at 6,004.20 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 57.93 points, or 0.30%, to 19,587.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.82 points, or 0.02%, to 42,754.05.

Expectations of more trade deals between the U.S. and its major trading partners, along with upbeat earnings and tame inflation data, helped U.S. equities rally in May, with the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq notching their best monthly gains since November 2023.

The S&P 500 remained about 2% below its all-time high touched in February, while the Nasdaq is about 3% below its December record high.

Warner Bros Discovery fell after the company said it would separate its studios and streaming business from its struggling cable television networks. Immediately after the announcement, it had surged as much as 13%.

Shares of McDonald’s dipped after Morgan Stanley downgraded the fast-food restaurant to “equal-weight” from “overweight”.

Robinhood Markets dropped after S&P Dow Jones Indices left S&P 500 constituents unchanged in its latest rebalancing, following recent speculation that the online brokerage would be added to the benchmark index.

Major data releases this week include readings on May consumer prices on Wednesday and initial jobless claims on Thursday. While investors widely expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged next week, focus will be on any signs of pick-up in inflation as Trump’s tariffs risk raising price pressures. – Reuters