The S&P 500 looked to be running out of steam after four days of gains on Thursday, a poor financial report from J.M. Smucker pulling down packaged food makers and countering a boost for technology firms from the lifting of a ban on China’s ZTE Corp.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday that Washington had reached a deal with China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker that would allow it to do business again with U.S. suppliers.
Shares of optical component makers Acacia Communications , Oclaro Inc and Lumentum Holdings jumped on the news in trading before the bell.
Qualcomm and NXP Semiconductors also rose 2.7 percent and 3.4 percent respectively. A $44 billion acquisition of NXP by Qualcomm is still under review by China’s market regulator, although there have been some signs of progress as China and Washington negotiated on trade in the past month.
“That will be bullish for any of the suppliers to ZTE, but more importantly bullish for any deal stocks waiting for regulatory approval,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist, B. Riley FBR in New York.
At 8:54 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 57 points, or 0.23 percent, but S&P 500 e-minis were up just 1.75 points, or 0.06 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 8.75 points, or 0.12 percent.
“We had a significant run up of late and it takes pretty significant catalysts to move us higher,” said Hogan.
Shares in J.M. Smucker tumbled 8.3 percent after the Folgers coffee maker reported quarterly results and full-year forecast that missed Wall Street estimates.
Shares of other food companies Kellogg dropped 2.3 percent and General Mills fell 1.8 percent.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq closed at a record high for a third-straight day on Wednesday as investors focused on strength in the U.S. economy and solid earnings reports, putting aside trade concerns.
The CBOE Volatility index, a gauge of stock market volatility, eased to levels last seen before the early February sell-off, trading at 11.74 points.
Investors will look to a G7 summit starting in Canada on Friday for more signs on the trade tensions and tit-for-tat tariffs which weakened the stock market through February and March.
The two-day meeting will be the first chance for world leaders to confront Trump in person, since U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union were imposed last week.
All six of the other G7 countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — are now paying the tariffs.
Canada and Mexico have retaliated against a range of U.S. exports and the EU has promised to do so as well.
Among stocks, Allergan jumped 2.7 percent following reports that billionaire investor Carl Icahn had acquired a small stake in the company.
