U.S.-China Trade War Negotiation Prospects Lead to Joint Rise… Palantir Up 24% [New York Stock Market Briefing]

Strong Finish Despite Trade War Uncertainty

Trump "Will Talk with Xi Jinping"

Palantir Surges on Better-than-Expected Performance Outlook

Despite concerns over the U.S.-China trade war, the anticipation of last-minute negotiations between the two countries led to a joint rise in major indices on the New York Stock Exchange on the 4th (local time).

On this day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 44,556.04, up 134.13 points (0.30%) from the previous trading day. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.72% to 6,037.88, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index finished at 19,654.02, up 1.35%.

The U.S. imposed an additional 10% tariff on all imports from China starting midnight on the 4th, following an executive order signed by President Trump on the 1st. China retaliated by imposing a 15% tariff on U.S. coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and automobiles.

However, President Trump left room for negotiation by stating that he would talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping again on this day, following his statement the previous day.

The market analyzed that President Trump is using tariffs as a 'negotiation tool,' as he received promises from Canada and Mexico to strengthen border controls to solve drug and illegal immigration issues, delaying the imposition of a 25% universal tariff by a month.

The job market appeared somewhat cooled. According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey released by the U.S. Department of Labor on this day, the number of job openings in December last year was 7.6 million, down 556,000 from the previous month (8.156 million). This is the lowest level in three months since September last year, significantly below the market forecast (8.01 million).

By stock, U.S. AI-based data analysis software Palantir surged 23.99% compared to the previous day. A buying spree followed after it announced a performance outlook that exceeded market expectations the previous day.

Nvidia rose 1.71%, while Apple and Microsoft increased by 2.1% and 0.35%, respectively. Alphabet, Google's parent company, which released its earnings after the market closed, showed a strong 2.5% increase in regular trading. Alphabet announced that its fourth-quarter revenue last year was $96.47 billion, with earnings per share (EPS) of $2.15, which fell short of market expectations.

Dong No, Hankyung.com reporter dong2@hankyung.com