Markets inch higher despite trade doubts

After making new highs to end last week, Monday markets in new York inched slightly higher. American traders remain optimistic (or complacent?) about the US-China trade negotiations, even though China is now sending clear signals that it’s worried over Trump not rolling back tariffs. Or maybe American markets just don’t care and are lifted by the knowledge of no more interest rate hikes this year. In Toronto, the TSX was flat, though utilities and REITs like C.A.P. were up 1.99%. Even better, Cineplex popped 4.79% after knocking EPS out of the park by beating the street 31%. Meanwhile, Shopify has been rising lately after a pullback earlier this fall. It closed Monday up 3.26% to $426.66.

In the States, Home Depot rose to a new high in afternoon trading, with investors looking ahead to its earnings report Tuesday. Home Depot closed 0.66% higher to $238.85. In fact, a slew of earnings from American retailers like TJX (up 32% year-to-date) will be released Tuesday. Perhaps they will fare better than Abercrombie & Fitch, which slid 7.43% on Monday after releasing earnings. Lastly, chipmakers like NVIDIA (up 3.96%) and AMD (3.42%) enjoyed a happy Monday, leading the way for the Nasdaq.