U.S. stocks close mixed after defense shares advance

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors balanced a significant rally in defense shares against looming regulatory decisions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 270.03 points, or 0.55 percent, to 49,266.11. The S and P 500 added 0.53 points, or 0.01 percent, to 6,921.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 104.26 points, or 0.44 percent, to 23,480.02.

Nine of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors ended in green, with energy and consumer staples leading the gainers by rising 3.2 percent and 2.26 percent, respectively. Technology and health led the laggards by losing 1.54 percent and 0.91 percent, respectively.

The defense sector saw a sharp recovery following U.S. President Donald Trump's Wednesday proposal of a 1.5 trillion U.S. dollar military budget for fiscal year 2027. The announcement spurred a rebound in major contractors, with Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics reclaiming key market positions. This follows a volatile Tuesday session where the sector faced pressure over administration demands to prioritize production timelines over shareholder dividends and buybacks.

Market attention is also fixed on the U.S. Supreme Court, which may rule as early as Friday on the legality of the administration's reciprocal tariffs. While these trade measures previously sparked concerns over rising corporate costs, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday reaffirmed his support for the tariff policy.

Speaking at the Economic Club of Minnesota, Bessent also addressed monetary policy, urging the Federal Reserve to accelerate interest rate reductions to stimulate national economic growth. "Interest rate cuts will have a tangible impact ... this is the only gap to achieving stronger economic growth," Bessent said, adding that the Federal Reserve should "no longer delay."

Bessent further noted that the announcement of the next Federal Reserve chair remains on track for later this month. Market participants continue to monitor these developments closely as the flow of economic data returns to its regular pace.

In corporate news, Alphabet closed up 1.1 percent to an all-time high, a day after the Google parent surpassed Apple for the second-highest market capitalization behind Nvidia, at around 3.9 trillion dollars. Apple ended 0.5 percent lower.

U.S. stocks close mixed after defense shares advance

China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao outlined the key priorities of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened on Friday in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.

In an interview with CGTN ahead of the two-day meeting, Wang said free trade, digital cooperation and green economy are high on the agenda of the meeting.

"The key areas include advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) in strengthening digital cooperation and developing green economy. At present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and chaos, with intensified geopolitical instability. The rise of unilateralism and protectionism poses serious challenges to the international economic and trade order, disrupting global and Asia-Pacific development. Against this backdrop, all parties have higher expectations for this trade ministers' meeting, hoping that it can build consensus and deliver outcomes," Wang said.

This year marks China's third time hosting the APEC meetings and the 35th anniversary of its membership.

By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.

China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies. In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies such as Singapore and Peru.

The minister said that China has always been a firm supporter and an important contributor to APEC.

"We have actively shared our vast market and development opportunities with all parties. China's door to the world will only open wider and wider. Facing the common challenges, China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, further deepen reform, expand high-standard opening-up, and continue to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world with its new achievements in Chinese modernization," the minister said.

China's Commerce Minister outlines priorities for 32nd APEC trade ministers' meeting