Hello traders everywhere. Stocks surged higher Friday on increasing hopes for a U.S.- China trade deal. The Dow and Nasdaq are both on pace to post their eighth consecutive weekly gain. The S&P 500, meanwhile, was on track for its seventh weekly gain in eight. The indexes are all up more than 2% entering Friday's afternoon trading session. They check in with gains of +2.5%, +2.1%, and 2% respectively.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said trade talks between the U.S. and China will continue next week in Washington. This comes after a U.S. trade delegation led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was in Beijing this week.
China and the U.S. are trying to strike a trade deal before an early March deadline. If a deal is not reached by then, additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods could take effect. President Donald Trump, however, is considering pushing back the deadline by 60 days to give negotiators more time to come up with a deal.