Dow rebounds after a sharp fall as the Treasury Secretary revives the hopes of trade agreements; SEC assesses new Crypto ETF

Shares of Dow and the US stock market reversed losses Friday after one of President Trump's top officials, the United States and China, engaged in a "constructive" dialogue over the resolution of their trade dispute. The news comes the same day that Washington has increased tariffs on Chinese imports worth $ 200 billion.

Dow, S & P 500 rebounds after a brutal sale

Major Wall Street indices rallied sharply over the afternoon, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average completely offset a 359-point drop. The blue-hip index gained 114.01 points, or 0.4%, to 25,942.37 points.

The broad S & P 500 Large Cap Index rose 0.4% to 2,881.40. The index was down to 1.6%. Inventories of raw materials, utilities and consumer staples were the main winners.

After falling 1.9% during the morning session, the Nasdaq Composite Index moved into positive territory, gaining 0.1% to 7,916.94.

Can we avoid a trade war?

Optimism on the US-China trade front was revived Friday after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the talks between the two countries were "constructive." These goods are now taxed at a rate of 25%, against 10% initially.

China has pledged to retaliate against tariff escalation but has not yet announced formal countermeasures. Beijing expressed "deep regret for development" before pledging to take decisive action.

"We hope that the United States will meet us half way and will work with us to resolve the existing problems through cooperation and consultation," the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement, according to CNN.

Last weekend, President Trump reignited the trade war by threatening new tariffs on imports from China after Beijing renounced a previous deal. Read more: Global Stocks in Fusion Mode, VIX Spikes Following Trump's Tweets on Trade War.

SEC assesses new proposal for Crypto ETF

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received a new application for registration of an exchange-traded fund based on cryptocurrency (ETF), according to new filing documents released Thursday.

According to the official prospectus, Crescent Crypto Asset Management plans to develop a new encryption ETF in partnership with NYSE Arca. The proposed fund would give investors exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH), the two largest market capitalization crypto currencies.

The US securities regulator has rejected dozens of applications for registration of a crypto ETF over concerns about market manipulation and transparency. The most publicized rejection came last year, after the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust did not get the green light. VanEck and SolidX again submitted their application for the creation of a physical guaranteed bitcoin fund in late January, shortly after the end of the US government shutdown. The proposal is still being reviewed by the regulator.

Disclaimer: The author is the owner of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other crypto-currencies. He holds investment positions in coins, but does not engage in short-term or day trading.

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