Stocks struggle as US-Canada trade talks near deadline
Stocks struggled for gains Friday as the United States and Canada neared a key trade agreement deadline with no apparent resolution.
The Dow rose just 5 points, with Goldman Sachs, Boeing and Chevron lagging. The S&P 500 added less than 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 0.3 percent on strength in Apple and Amazon.
Both the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 notched all-time highs this week, with a 5.8 percent weekly rally in Amazon and a 5.2 weekly gain in Apple carrying the indexes to new records.
Apple gained 1 percent Friday, while Amazon gained 0.6 percent.
Despite Friday's mixed results, Wall Street is set to conclude a bullish month.
The Dow and the S&P 500 remain on track for their best August since 2014; the Nasdaq Composite was poised to clinch its best August since 2000. The indexes were up 2.2 percent, 3 percent and 5.4 percent for the month, respectively, before the opening bell.
Friday marks the U.S.-imposed deadline for a new trade deal to be secured by the U.S., Mexico and Canada. While the States and Mexico announced a bilateral trade deal on Monday, Canada has yet to secure its place.
Representatives from the Canadian and U.S. governments worked deep into the night Thursday to devise an alternative to the trade agreement, though Canada's trade minister said they are still working to "get the right deal, not any deal," according to Reuters.
Trade concerns continued to weigh on investor sentiment this week following a report that the Trump administration remains committed to imposing tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods as soon as next week.
President Donald Trump appeared to confirm the Bloomberg News report later Thursday, adding that he may remove the U.S. from the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Trade-sensitive stocks such as Boeing and Caterpillar hit their session lows Thursday following the report. Shares of Boeing and Caterpillar dropped 0.9 percent and 2 percent in the prior session, respectively.
On the data front, the latest figures on consumer sentiment are due at 10 a.m. ET.
Shares of Coca-Cola fell 0.4 percent Friday after the company said it agreed to buy coffee chain Costa for $5.1 billion including debt to further its venture into healthier drink options.
The move, which pits Coca-Cola against established coffee options at Starbucks and Nestle, will add Costa's almost 4,000 outlets to the world's largest soda company.
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