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 Hopes of a de-escalation in the
U.S.-China trade dispute at the G20 summit this weekend boosted
emerging market stocks on Thursday, with Asian equities leading
gains, although currencies were mixed against a steady U.S.
dollar.
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 The Nasdaq Composite Index registered a modest gain on Wednesday, buoyed by a Micron Technologies-led rebound in chip makers, but the broader market finished slightly lower to flat, as selling in real estate, utilities and consumer staples weighed. The Nasdaq finished up 25 points, or 0.3%, at 7,910 (on a preliminary basis), halting three straight days of losses as upbeat quarterly results by Micron helped to inspire a rally in the semiconductor sector . However, gains faded in the last two hours of trade as investors wrestled with the coming G-20 gathering in Japan, where President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, are expected to discuss a cease-fire in tariff tensions. Markets were higher in early trade after investors interpreted a CNBC interview of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Bahrain as signaling hope for a Sino-American trade deal. Mnuchin said that an accord was 90% complete. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 11 points, or less than 0.1%, at 26,536, while the S&P 500 index shed 0.1% to end at 2,914.
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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Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg says breaking up big tech won't solve key issues over data privacy and antitrust concerns, but regulation could. At the Aspen Ideas Festival on Wednesday, Zuckerberg repeated calls for regulation of social media and policing online content. He said a good start would be the Honest Ads Act, co-written by presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., which would oversee election advertising. Laws on political ads, he acknowledged, are "very out of date." He also defended Facebook's acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram, insisting they did not stifle innovation.
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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 U.S. stocks claw back some of the previous day's loss; semiconductor shares scored a bounce from Micron Technologies's late-Tuesday quarterly results.
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Herman Miller Inc. shares rallied in the extended session Wednesday after the furniture company's results and outlook topped Wall Street estimates. Herman Miller shares surged 8.7% after hours, following a 1.9% rise to close the regular session at $37.83. The company reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $46 million, or 78 cents a share, compared with $32.2 million, or 53 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were 88 cents a share. Revenue rose to $671 million from $618 million in the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 78 cents a share on revenue of $657.2 million. Herman Miller expects earnings of 77 cents to 81 cents on revenue of $650 million to $670 million in the first quarter, while analysts had forecast 76 cents a share on revenue of $651.6 million.
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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Micron stock on track for best one-day gain in nearly 8 years
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