The three major indexes on Wall Street were mixed. While investor sentiment was dampened by concerns over regional bank losses, it was seen as positive that U.S. President Donald Trump said he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping within two weeks.
As of 10:03 a.m. on Oct. 17, the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the New York Stock Exchange was up 115.18 points, or 0.25%, at 46,067.42. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 was up 2.51 points, or 0.04%, at 6,631.58, while the Nasdaq composite was down 8.87 points, or 0.04%, at 22,553.66.
In an interview with Fox Business, Trump said, "I will meet President Xi within two weeks," and added, "I think things will go well with China." He also said, "A 100% tariff is unsustainable. But that is the current figure, and it made China do that."
With Trump leaving room for negotiation, it was a boon for the stock market. U.S. stock index futures fell more than 1% before the open, but climbed to flat territory around the open as Trump's remarks and bargain buying flowed in strongly.
Still, the regional bank loss issue remains an explosive risk. Earlier, Zions Bancorporation said the previous day that its subsidiary California Bank & Trust had recognized $50 million in commercial and industrial loans as an accounting loss. Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAB) also said it was unable to exercise a senior lien on Cantor Group.
Sectors were mixed. None were clearly up more than 1%, while consumer staples were up 0.79%. Despite beating third-quarter estimates, U.S. securities brokerage Interactive Brokers Group saw its shares slightly weaker. In premarket transactions, the decline widened to as much as 6%.
Among large-cap names, Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Netflix, and Palantir were slightly higher. Microsoft, Amazon.com, Meta, Google, and Broadcom were lower.