NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks finished a volatile session mostly higher on Friday after newly announced US policies to punish China did not threaten a trade detente between Washington and Beijing.The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.5 per cent to 3,044.31, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.3 per cent to 9,489.87.
Trump harshly criticised China's handling of the coronavirus, blaming the country for the deaths of 100,000 Americans, and announcing new actions including an end to funding for the World Health Organisation.But Trump made no mention of the"phase one" trade agreement with China that walked back earlier trade tariffs, nor did he threaten new levies on US imports from the country.
A US government survey showed a record 13.6 per cent drop in personal consumption in April, while personal income jumped 10.5 per cent due to the surge in government aid and unemployment payments under federal emergency spending measures. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank would roll outs its lending program for small businesses in the coming days as he reiterated the central bank's plan to continue to take a muscular approach to supporting the US economy.