US open: Stocks edge higher amid investor caution

US stocks were trading slightly higher going into the weekend and a scheduled meeting between the Presidents of the US and China scheduled for the next day on the sidelines of the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan.

According to some analysts, expectations ahead of that meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, expectations were for both to 'kick the can down the road' but not to go as far as rolling back the trade levies that had already been put in place.

"With above-trend economic growth and the S&P 500 at an all-time high, there is no sense of urgency on the part of the US to reach an agreement," said analysts at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch.

Depending on whether a 'real deal' was struck, the S&P 500 might rise or fall by roughly 5.0%, the investment bank said.

At 1501 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was ahead 0.14% to 26,561.63, alongside a gain of 0.21% to 2,931.16 for the S&P 500 while the Nasdaq Composite was adding 0.07% to 7,972.09.

Trump was reported to have said on the sidelines of the G20 summit that he expects talks to be "productive" when he meets China's Xi Jinping on Saturday. According to AFP, Trump said: "I think it will be productive [...] It will be a very exciting day."

However, Trump reportedly also poured cold water on reports that he had promised not to impose any new sanctions on Beijing for six months.

For his part, Xi reportedly warned against "bullying" practices and the US President's 'America First' policy.

In corporate news, Constellation Brands stock jumped after the owner of Corona beer reported first quarter earnings per share of $2.40 (consensus: $2.05%), on slightly better-than-expected revenues.

Shares of Nike were trading a tad higher at the end of the week, despite the athletic footwear maker having posted lower than expected quarterly earnings the night before.

Apple was lower by 1.0% after design chief Jony Ive announced his decision to leave the tech giant to set up shop on his own.

No interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve

On the macroeconomic front, in an interview with Fox Business News, New York Fed chief Robert Kaplan, argued against fine-tuning interest rates, saying he would prefer to react only if there was a "material deterioration".

"That's why I want to take a little more time to see how events unfold," Kaplan said.

On that note, the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index slipped from a reading of 100.0 for May to 98.2 in June, amid concerns around the global trade situation.

But it nevertheless came in ahead of the 97.1 reading which economists had forecast.

In parallel, according to the Department of Commerce, personal incomes increased at a month-on-month clip of 0.5% last month, following an identical gain for April (consensus: 0.3%).

Personal spending meanwhile was ahead by 0.4%, just as expected by economists, but came on the back of a rise during the previous month that revisions showed was twice as big as originally estimated.

The Chicago business barometer on the other hand declined to 49.7 this month from 54.2 in May, missing expectations for a reading of 53.1 and marking the first sub-50 reading since January 2017.

Dow Jones - Risers

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $203.65 3.37%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $111.13 2.44%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $84.08 1.85%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.07 1.29%
3M Co. (MMM) $173.91 1.18%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $111.44 1.16%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $110.81 0.98%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $136.48 0.98%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $208.25 0.89%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $128.72 0.75%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $364.20 -2.86%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $139.40 -1.73%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $138.71 -1.20%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $240.61 -1.17%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.21 -0.94%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $197.91 -0.92%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $76.04 -0.72%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $133.76 -0.29%
American Express Co. (AXP) $123.31 -0.23%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $54.41 -0.20%

S&P 500 - Risers

L Brands Inc (LB) $26.66 7.50%
Constellation Brands Inc. Class A (STZ) $198.14 7.09%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $11.66 6.87%
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $71.91 5.75%
Wyndham Destinations Inc. (WYND) $44.03 4.32%
Westrock Company (WRK) $36.24 4.30%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $43.68 3.85%
FedEx Corp. (FDX) $166.04 3.83%
Mohawk Inds Inc. (MHK) $147.05 3.74%
Macerich Co (MAC) $33.30 3.42%

S&P 500 - Fallers

ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $26.33 -8.99%
Boeing Co. (BA) $364.20 -2.86%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $61.26 -2.37%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $22.68 -2.24%
Twitter Inc (TWTR) $34.49 -2.09%
Hess Corp. (HES) $64.07 -2.00%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $139.40 -1.73%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $28.24 -1.72%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $14.15 -1.67%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $45.81 -1.65%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $46.02 3.30%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $209.29 2.10%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $90.93 1.38%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $127.83 1.37%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $72.72 1.30%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.07 1.29%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $77.32 1.14%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $21.30 0.97%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $45.11 0.94%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $131.30 0.89%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $12.03 -1.76%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $235.85 -1.64%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $116.32 -1.58%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $266.84 -1.15%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.21 -0.94%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $83.93 -0.93%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $197.91 -0.92%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $259.16 -0.84%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $46.93 -0.74%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $112.63 -0.67%