Stocks – Wall Street Pauses to Digest Trade News 

Investing.com – Wall Street was leery on Thursday after the South China Morning Post reported that upcoming trade tariffs on Chinese goods are likely to be delayed, even if Washington and Beijing fail to sign a deal by Dec. 15, when they are expected to take effect.

The was down 40 points or 0.2% by 9:36 AM ET (13:36 GMT), while the inched down 3 points or 0.1% and the fell 10 points or 0.1%.

Citing sources on both sides, the South China Morning Post reported that the two countries were close to a “phase one” trade deal but were being held up by agreements on tariff removals. The paper added that even if a deal is not signed by Dec. 15, expected tariffs on electronic goods will likely be delayed.

Investors have been cautious this week as it became apparent that the two superpowers are at an impasse over the trade deal.

Meanwhile, TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:) surged 20% after reports that The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:) is in talks to buy its smaller rival, while Tiffany & Co (NYSE:) gained 3% after reports that LVMH (PA:) had raised its offer for the company to $130 per share.

Macy’s Inc (NYSE:) tumbled 4.1% after the company cut its annual profit forecast for the second time this year and posted a bigger-than-expected fall in comparable store sales. Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:)was down 2.5% on an analyst downgrade.

The , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.1% to 97.760 and slipped 0.3% to $1,469.75 a troy ounce. jumped 1.2% to $57.70 a barrel.

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