Stocks Inch Higher To End Week

                                                                                                                                      FRIDAY – U.S. stock index futures indicated a higher open on Friday with Washington and Beijing set to resume key trade talks mid-October.

Any positive moves on Friday, however, would offset modest weekly losses for the major stock indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were all on track to finish the week lower before the bell Friday morning after snapping a three-week winning streak last week.

The optimism among traders Friday morning came with trade talks between the U.S. and China set to resume Oct. 10-11 in Washington, D.C., three people familiar with the discussions said. News of a scheduled meeting adds to the growing belief on Wall Street that the trade war between the two economic superpowers has eased in recent weeks.

U.S. consumer spending slowed more than expected in August, according to a government report released Friday. Personal consumption expenditures, also known as household spending, edged up an adjusted 0.1% in August from July, when spending rose 0.5%.

The print represents consumer spending’s softest read since February and could suggest to policymakers that a critical driver of U.S. GDP growth could be set for deceleration. Consumer spending accounts for more than 66% of total economic output in the United States.

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