Stocks edge higher and regain some lost ground

By DAMIAN J. TROISE 15 May 2019, 12:00AM

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks regained some ground in morning trading Tuesday following a nosedive at the start of the week as the U.S. and China escalate their trade war.

Investors have been dealing with creeping uncertainty since last week after President Donald Trump's decision to raise tariffs on Chinese goods. China responded by raising its own tariffs, and the U.S. is considering expanding tariffs again to cover all Chinese goods.

The escalation surprised investors who had expected a deal sooner rather than later. They now have to expect much more volatility as the world's largest economies head toward a full-blown trade war that could threaten economic growth.

A mix of communications and consumer-oriented companies led the market higher. Video game maker Take-Two rose after its fourth quarter profit beat Wall Street forecasts. Disney gained ground after announcing a deal with Comcast to take full control of the video streaming service Hulu. Amazon, Mattel and other companies that cater to consumers ticked higher.

Technology stocks, which stand to suffer heavily from the ongoing trade war, bounced back after taking a beating the day before. Qualcomm and Cisco both moved higher.

Utilities, a safe-play sector that investors favor when they're feeling fearful, were the only sector to fall. A day earlier, they were the only winners in the market.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index rose 0.6% as of 10 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 151 points, or 0.6%, to 25,476. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.7%.

MOUSE HOUSE EXPANSION: Disney rose 1.1%. The deal the entertainment giant struck with Comcast can give Disney full ownership of Hulu as of 2024. Disney and other media companies have been making huge efforts to get into video streaming in order to meet the challenge posed by Netflix. Comcast also rose just under 1%.

HOLES IN THE FABRIC: Ralph Lauren fell 8% after investors focused on a drop in revenue from the upscale clothing company's key market in North America. The downturn in regional sales helped weigh down overall revenue, though profit and revenue still beat analyst forecasts for the quarter.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE 15 May 2019, 12:00AM
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