Stocks rise, shaking off trade-war fears on eve of US-China tariffs

Stocks rose Thursday, shrugging off trade tensions on the eve of the effective date for President Donald Trump's tariffs on China. The dollar and Treasury yields edged lower.

Here's the scoreboard:

Dow Jones industrial average: 24,358.44 +183.62 (+0.76%)

S&P 500: 2,734.58 +21.36 (+0.79%)

1. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo headed to North Korea to continue denuclearization talks. The visit comes a week after reports that Pyongyang is continuing to develop its nuclear weapons program. North Korea's Kim Jong Un had last month vowed to "work toward" denuclearization in signing what critics called a vague agreement with Trump.
2. Tariffs on Chinese imports to the US are set to kick in just after midnight. China's Commerce Ministry spokesperson warned Beijing would hit back immediately with levies of its own on hundreds of US products
3. Mexico moved forward with a second round of retaliatory tariffs on US products. The tariffs, which target major US agricultural products, came after the Trump administration slapped steel and aluminum duties on Mexico in May.
4. Federal Reserve officials signaled growing concern over the Trump administration's trade fights. Central bankers said uncertainty and risks associated with trade policy had "intensified," according to June meeting minutes out Thursday.
5. Activity in the US services sector picked up last month. An uptick in new orders pushed the non-manufacturing index up a half a percentage point to 59.1 in June, the Institute for Supply Management said, but officials added protectionism could disrupt supply chains in coming months.

And a look at the upcoming economic calendar:

• The US releases its employment report.
• Canada reports employment and trade data.
• The UK housing price index is out.

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