The U.S. stock market has been in a tight trading range for months, as investors await clarity on the uncertain state of the country’s relationship with its biggest trading partners.
Trade is key issue investors are grappling with, and its lack of resolution is preventing major indexes like the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.77% or the S&P 500 SPX, -0.71% from breaking out of that range in either direction. Should the tense relationships deteriorate into a full-on trade war, that is seen as having a markedly negative impact on the economy and corporate profits. Should it be resolved with little additional pain, however, there’s enough positive momentum in terms of economic data and demand that shares could continue pushing higher.
