Major US stock indices have predominantly increased as investors expected the G20 summit, hoping to get hints about trade negotiations between the US and China.

Trump and C are due to meet in Osaka on Saturday. It is expected that the two leaders will discuss trade issues, and investors will look for clues about whether China and the United States can make progress in ending the trade war. In the morning, market participants received conflicting reports on trade negotiations. The Chinese publication South China Morning Post said, citing anonymous sources, that officials from Washington and Beijing agreed on a preliminary truce in their trade dispute before the G20 summit this weekend. However, The Wall Street Journal reported later, with reference to Chinese officials, that the Chinese president intends to present the US president with a package of conditions that must be met by the United States before Beijing is ready to return to discussing a settlement of the trade dispute between the two countries. According to sources, among the preconditions - the requirement to lift the ban on the sale of US technology Huawei. In addition, Beijing wants the US to abolish all fines and abandon China’s demands for increasing imports from the United States in excess of the volumes proposed by Beijing at the Xi and Trump meeting in December 2018.

Investors also analyzed US macroeconomic data. Thus, the report of the Ministry of Commerce showed that GDP grew at an annualized rate of 3.1% in the first quarter of 2019, unchanged from the “second” estimate published last month. Economists had expected growth rates to remain unchanged at 3.1%.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labor announced that initial claims for benefits increased by 10,000 to 227,000, seasonally adjusted for the week ending June 22. The data for the previous week was revised to show 1,000 calls more than previously reported. Economists had forecast an increase in the number of applications for 220,000 last week.

In addition, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that, taking into account seasonal fluctuations, the index of pending home sales increased by 1.1% in May, to 105.4 points compared to 104.3 points in April. Economists had expected the index to grow by 1.0%. Meanwhile, on an annualized basis, the index fell by 0.7%, registering its 17th monthly decline in a row.

Most of the components of DOW finished trading in positive territory (20 of 30). The growth leader was Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA; + 4.31%). The Boeing Co. shares turned out to be an outsider. (BA; -2.59%).

Almost all sectors of the S & P recorded an increase. The sector of conglomerates grew the most (+ 0.8%). Only the raw materials sector declined (-0.4%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 26,525.09 -11.73 -0.04%

S & P 500 2,924.79 +11.01 + 0.38%

Nasdaq 100 7,967.76 +57.79 + 0.73%

U.S. stock-index futures rose moderately on Thursday, supported by a report that the U.S. and China had agreed to a tentative truce in their trade dispute before a G20 summit this weekend, but gains were tempered by a decline in Boeing (BA) stock.

Global Stocks:

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Travelers (TRV) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank

General Motors (GM) initiated with an Outperform at Credit Suisse

Ford Motor (F) initiated with an Outperform at Credit Suisse

Tesla (TSLA) initiated with an Underperform at Credit Suisse

NVIDIA (NVDA) initiated with an Outperform at Wedbush; target $184

Advanced Micro (AMD) initiated with an Outperform at Wedbush

Micron (MU) initiated with a Neutral at Wedbush

Intel (INTC) initiated with an Underperform at Wedbush

Wallgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) reported Q3 FY 2019 earnings of $1.47 per share (versus $1.53 in Q3 FY 2018), beating analysts’ consensus of $1.43.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $34.591 bln (+0.7% y/y), generally in line with analysts’ consensus estimate of $34.520 bln.

The company also reaffirmed guidance for FY2019, projecting EPS growth of ~flat versus $6.02 last year and analysts’ consensus estimate of $5.99.

WBA rose to $53.11 (+1.39%) in pre-market trading.