S&P 500 falls from record | It's Trump's market now | Apple to keep rallying?

THU, OCT 31, 2019

EVENING BRIEF

AS OF THU, OCT 31, 2019 • 04:01 ET

DJIA		27046.41
		-0.52%	-140.28

S&P 500		3037.63
		-0.30%	-9.14

NASDAQ		8292.36
		-0.14%	-11.61

Most Active

DOW
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	248.76	+5.50	+2.26%
MSFT	143.37	-1.24	-0.86%
INTC	56.53	-0.07	-0.12%

S&P 500
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
GE	9.98	-0.13	-1.29%
AMD	33.93	+0.80	+2.41%
BAC	31.27	-0.35	-1.11%

NASDAQ
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AMD	33.93	+0.80	+2.41%
FB	191.65	+3.40	+1.81%
KHC	32.33	+3.83	+13.44%

EDITOR'S NOTE

Earnings have not been as soft as projected, the economy may not be slowing as much as feared, the Federal Reserve made a third interest rate cut, and even the disruptive forces of Brexit appear to be on hold for now.

So now investors are back to worrying about the trade war, sending the market sharply lower on Thursday.

The morning began with a report airing doubts that Chinese trade officials may have about sealing a trade deal with the U.S. Then came President Trump's tweet bashing the Fed for not lowering interest rates enough and arguing, "China is not our problem, the Federal Reserve is."

China, however, is clearly Apple's problem. The company reported its net sales declines in China were moderating, but still down 2.4% in the third quarter.

Overall, however, Apple turned in results that beat earnings expectations. Its stock turned only slightly higher, held back by the rekindled trade war rhetoric on Thursday morning, writes CNBC's Yun Li.

Some Wall Street analysts say it will be Trump's handling of the trade war that sets the market's direction for the rest of the year. Not the Fed or the impeachment inquiry.

"Trump's trade policy has definitely softened the U.S. economy and the Fed responds with three cuts and says it's back in Trump's court, said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. "Therefore, everyone is looking at what happens now with this trade deal."

We'll get another look at the softening economy tomorrow with the latest unemployment numbers. Economists expect gains in nonfarm payrolls of 75,000 in October, down from a rise of 136,000 in September. They also expect the unemployment rate to tick up from its 50-year low of 3.5% to 3.6%.

Not too scary. Happy Halloween!

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