Stocks Add To Their Gains On Growing Trade Optimism

Plus New Zacks Strong Buys for Friday, August 30

Stocks Add To Their Gains On Growing Trade Optimism Stocks added to their gains again with all of the major indexes up 1.25% or more. And so far for the week, we're up nearly 3%. Another solid day today could get us over that mark, and finish off a tough month on a strong note. Renewed trade optimism continues to buoy the market. That was underscored yesterday when China's Ministry of Commerce indicated they wouldn't immediately retaliate against the U.S. over the latest round of new tariffs. He said he believes both sides should be discussing "removing the new tariffs to prevent escalation of the trade war." The U.S. and China are expected to meet for more face to face negotiations sometime in September. In the meantime, a little less than half of the $300 billion in new tariffs are supposed to go into effect on Sunday, September 1st. President Trump has already postposed more than half of those new tariffs until December 15th. Traders, and China, will be looking to see if the U.S. delays the rest, much like they did ahead of their June talks. Either way, the markets cheered the softer tone. And while nobody is expecting a full-fledged deal next month, there's plenty of hope that real progress can be made, and that a pathway towards an agreement can be found. Traders also appear confident that we'll get another rate cut when the Fed meets again on September 18th. With odds at more than 90% that we do, the only real question seems to be if they'll cut by 25 basis points or 50 basis points. Given the long, three-day holiday weekend coming up (the markets are closed on Monday for Labor Day), anything can happen today. But the momentum this week has been decidedly bullish. And with our full year GDP on pace for 2.6%, which is stronger than the average annual GDP of this entire 10½ year expansion, unemployment near record lows, and consumer confidence near record highs, it should be. These truly are historic times for our economy. And historic times for the market. So make sure you're talking full advantage of it. Have a Happy Labor Day. See you on Tuesday, Kevin Matras Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research Sponsor Pot Stocks to Buy Today Pent-up demand released by wave after wave of marijuana legalization has created a new industry that is skyrocketing from $9 billion to an expected $32 billion in 2020. By 2025 it could reach $146 billion or more. With Mexico likely to legalize marijuana use in October, the entire industry could surge higher. Zacks launched a new approach to this space and quickly closed access to limit the number of investors who share its picks. Access has briefly re-opened but only until Sunday, September 1. See live buys before market closes today >> Most Popular Articles from Zacks.com Recent Broker Rating Upgrades Add Luster to These 5 Stocks Broker advice is an invaluable guide for investors to design winning portfolios. Read More » 5 Top Momentum Stocks in August Despite Market Mayhem Volatility resurfaced in Wall Street since the beginning of August after two months of bull run. Read More » 5 Top Tech Stocks Under $20 That Promise More Gains The sector has been one of the best performing so far this year and continues to be a profitable area. Read More » 5 Must-See Retail Earnings Charts Earnings season is wrapping it up with these exciting retailers. Read More » Will Treasury Yield Inversion Benefit Stocks? 5 Top Picks In their rush to pour money to safe-haven government bonds, market participants have shifted too much money to the bond market. Read More » Sponsor Increase Investment Returns with Free Zacks' Portfolio Tracker Follow your investments easily in one place. Get free email updates that alert you to major events affecting your stocks and funds, including timely recommendation changes, earnings announcements and, most importantly, earnings estimate revisions. Click to Learn More>> Bull of the Day: Deckers (DECK) The maker of UGGs is firing on all cylinders as it recently raised full year guidance. Read More » New Zacks Strong Buys for August 30th Here are 5 stocks added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) List today. Read More » Customize Your Profit from the Pros Delivery   Download our app for convenient on-the-go access to even more—daily and weekly newsletters published by Zacks experts, proprietary research and tools, and Portfolio Tracker on Zacks.com. Visit Success Stories to hear how Zacks research, tools and portfolios help our members outperform the market. Get all of our market insights and much more when you connect with us. This free resource is being sent by Zacks.com. We look for investment resources and inform you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. 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