Trade deal skepticism pressures U.S. markets amid mixed earnings

American markets sold off on Thursday after reports that Chinese officials were throwing cold water on Trump’s hopes that a phase one trade deal between China and the U.S. would be signed. Chinese trade officials fear him impulsively backing out of the deal. Gold, utilities and U.S. treasuries moved up during the risk-off trade. For example, the TLT ETF which tracks treasuries rose 1.35%. Despite the decline, the S&P and Nasdaq finished October with their best month since June.

Meanwhile, earnings season continued with Pinterest reporting after-hours and disappointing the street. The app posted a Q3 EPS loss of 23 cents, far exceeding the street’s expectations of five. Pinterest nosedived 18% in immediate after-hours trading. In contrast, Lyft posted a earnings beat, but markets decided to punish that and other tech unicorns Thursday, including Uber and Slack. Lyft closed down 6.05%.

In Canada, the TSX fared a little better, closing only modestly down. Altagas beat the street and rose 3.62%. But the biggest surprise came from battered SNC-Lavalin, which named a new CEO and leapt 20.56%. That remains a far cry from a year ago when SNC was trading exactly twice as much, but it has struggled to rise above $20 for the past three months.

 iShares Barclays 20+ Yr Treas Bond +1.35%
📅 Pinterest Inc. -18%
🚗 Lyft -6.05%
⛽ Altagas Ltd +3.62%
🛢 SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. +20.56%