US close: Markets mixed as traders cling to US-China trade deal hopes

Wall Street trading ended on a mixed note on Thursday, as traders held out hope that the world's two largest economies could finally call a truce on their ongoing trade war.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.04% to close at 26,526.58, while the S&P 500 rose 0.38% to 2,924.92 and the Nasdaq 100 added 0.39% to 7,657.05.

At the open, the Dow was 12.25 points weaker after a mixed performance on Wednesday, when the Dow and S&P 500 both closed lower while the Nasdaq saw out the session with a 0.32% gain on the back of a rally in technology shares.

Focus on Thursday was once again primarily centred on global trade developments, after Trump said a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart could potentially lead to a trade deal.

However, the US president did warn that he was happy to slap more tariffs on virtually all remaining Chinese exports if talks faltered once again.

The South China Morning Post also revealed overnight that officials from Washington and Beijing had tentatively agreed to resume talks, while the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese leader Xi Jinping was expected to present Trump with his terms on Thursday ahead of the meeting.

China was expected to demand that Washington remove its ban on the sale of US technology to Huawei.

On the data front, the Commerce Department revealed that the nation's economy grew at a solid rate of 3.1% over the first quarter.

However, the revised figures also showed that some components of aggregate demand, such as consumer spending and business investment, advanced at a slower pace than had been previously been estimated.

Elsewhere, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, hitting a seven-week high, according to a report from the Labor Department on Thursday.

US initial jobless claims increased by 10,000 from the previous week's revised level to 227,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000.

Economists had been expecting a smaller jump to 220,000.

Lastly, contract signings to purchase previously-owned US homes increased in May, signalling that Americans might be responding to declining mortgage rates.

Pending home sales rose 1.1% month-on-month, just ahead of economists' estimates for an increase of 1.0%, according to the National Association of Realtors

In corporate news, Walgreens Boots Alliance shares were up 4.09% after posting a big quarterly earnings beat on the back of improved prescription drug sales, while Accenture was down 0.17% despite raising its full-year forecast following its own better-than-expected third-quarter results.

Ford shares advanced 2.98% after announcing it would be cutting 12,000 jobs.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $54.52 4.09%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $83.66 1.34%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $246.38 1.18%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $199.33 1.17%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $43.43 1.02%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $128.97 0.95%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $206.23 0.82%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $57.24 0.46%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $83.83 0.35%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $149.15 0.34%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $364.02 -2.91%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.73 -1.54%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.46 -1.51%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $75.82 -1.02%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $140.70 -0.82%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $139.30 -0.78%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $123.01 -0.66%
3M Co. (MMM) $171.50 -0.22%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $51.09 -0.08%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $110.10 -0.05%

S&P 500 - Risers

CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $11.64 6.69%
L Brands Inc (LB) $26.32 6.13%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $46.58 5.74%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $34.68 4.18%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $54.52 4.09%
Macerich Co (MAC) $33.44 3.85%
McCormick & Co. (MKC) $155.91 3.48%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $118.18 3.46%
Rollins Inc. (ROL) $36.63 3.45%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $86.86 3.23%

S&P 500 - Fallers

ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $25.43 -12.10%
Boeing Co. (BA) $364.02 -2.91%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $61.27 -2.36%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $31.45 -2.33%
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $61.69 -2.06%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $22.73 -2.03%
Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $113.10 -1.96%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $100.54 -1.82%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $39.75 -1.75%
Hess Corp. (HES) $64.27 -1.67%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $54.52 4.09%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $118.18 3.46%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $38.07 2.78%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $186.13 2.68%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $44.69 2.55%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $163.23 2.49%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $123.95 2.22%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $32.15 2.19%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $370.02 2.16%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $138.29 1.95%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $100.54 -1.82%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.73 -1.54%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.46 -1.51%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $46.72 -1.12%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $84.72 -1.06%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $108.14 -0.85%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $54.12 -0.62%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $12.25 -0.49%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $113.67 -0.42%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $1,076.01 -0.35%