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 U.S. stocks closed virtually unchanged Friday as investor optimism waned on a limited trade accord between Washington and Beijing.
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 * Indexes up: Dow 0.01%, S&P 500 0.01%, Nasdaq 0.2%
(Updates with close of U.S. market)
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Stocks were little changed on Friday after China and the U.S. agreed to a phase one trade deal as investors concluded a solid week of gains.
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America's stock market ran wild in 2019, putting up a far-above-average year despite trade skirmishes, global economic sluggishness and political tumult. That's great for those already invested in stocks, but anyone with new money to spend is left looking at a lot of overvalued equities with severely depressed yields.
One solution? Peer over the Atlantic and seek out European Dividend Aristocrats.
You're certainly familiar with the S&P Dividend Aristocrats - 57 dividend stocks that have raised their payouts for 25 or more years. Well, the European Dividend Aristocrats are of a similar vein. To qualify as European payout royalty, a company needs to show only 10 or more years of stable or increasing dividends. But these companies also provide investors with diversification and much more reasonable valuation than many of their American brethren.
Another perk: European Dividend Aristocrats yield more - substantially more. As of this writing, they collectively yield 3.2%, versus 1.9% for the S&P Dividend Aristocrats.
Read on to explore all 41 European Dividend Aristocrats.
SEE ALSO: The 20 Best Stocks to Buy for 2020
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 U.S. stocks closed slightly higher Friday after President Donald Trump and Chinese officials announced a trade pact that includes a rollback of some tariffs, the scrapping of further duties originally set for Sunday, and promises of targeted U.S. agricultural purchases by China.
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 We are still in an overall bull market and many stocks that smart money investors were piling into surged through the end of November. Among them, Facebook and Microsoft ranked among the top 3 picks and these stocks gained 54% and 51% respectively. Hedge funds' top 3 stock picks returned 41.7% this year and beat […]
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 The Supreme Court said Friday it will hear three cases next year involving President Donald Trump's financial records. Trump has sought to keep his tax and bank records private, and rulings against him could result in the quick release of personal financial information, the Associated Press wrote. Arguments will take place in late March with decisions poised for June.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Oil futures settled higher on Friday, with U.S. prices above $60 a barrel for the first time since mid-September. Traders digested news of a preliminary phase one U.S.-China trade deal that helped ease worries about the outlook for energy demand. The question of whether U.S. benchmark crude-oil futures can "break above multi-month resistance in the low $60s will depend on U.S.-China trade relations; a favorable deal with material tariff reductions will be supportive of a move higher in oil, while continued confusion on the status of the deal will keep energy markets capped," said Tyler Richey, co-editor at Sevens Report Research. January West Texas Intermediate oil rose 89 cents, or 1.5%, to settle at $60.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, prices rose 1.5%, according to FactSet data.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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AT&T Inc. said Friday its board has agreed to increase its quarterly dividend by 2% to 52 cents a share. The new dividend is payable Feb. 3 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 10. The company said it has begun retiring shares after entering a $4 billion accelerated share repurchase program and plans to retire about $100 million worth in the first quarter of 2020. AT&T is also on track to hit its 2019 net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio target in the 2.5 times range and expects its leverage ratio to range from 2.0 times to 2.25 times by the end of 2022. Shares were slightly lower Friday, but have gained 34% in 2019, while the S&P 500 has gained 26%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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 Stocks squeeze out gains Friday as investors don't fully buy China trade deal
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China agrees to gradual reduction in tariffs as part of ‘phase one' trade deal with US
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U.S. President Donald
Trump's limited trade deal with China removes a major hurdle for
Apple and other technology stocks that have already
surged this year to record highs.
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Gold prices settle higher on Friday, buoyed by weakness in the dollar and a fall in bond yields, as traders struggled to sort out details of news that the U.S. and China have agreed to a phase-one trade deal.
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"Just remember, please, these are mostly short-term trades, not investments," the "Mad Money" host says.
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