Stocks edge higher after two days of losses

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Stocks in the U.S. finished mostly higher Wednesday, a break after two days of steep losses. Technology and internet companies and retailers were responsible for most of the gains.

The gains came from high-growth stocks such as retail and industrial companies, and energy companies benefited as crude oil rose about 2 percent. Smaller and more domestically focused companies surged. Those sectors have slumped over the past two months. Despite the gains Wednesday, the S&P 500 is down 3.2 percent so far this week.

Alec Young, managing director of global markets research at FTSE Russell, said the market has tumbled this autumn because growth in the global economy and in company profits is slowing down, and investors are worried that the situation will get worse.

Young said Wall Street essentially has a two-item wish list for the holidays: a general trade agreement between the U.S. and China, and a sign the Fed will raise interest rates at a more gradual clip.

Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are scheduled to discuss the trade situation at a Group of 20 summit at the end of this month.

If those things transpire, he said, the stock market will settle down.

“All they have to do is agree on a high-level framework that can delay the increase in the tariffs,” Young said. “If the Fed is more dovish, and we get some positive news on China, we can have a solid end to the year.”