Wall Street ends higher on strong earnings

US stock indices closed the first session of the week higher after a spate of upbeat earnings results for the second quarter, overcoming concerns about the US-China trade dispute. 

Berkshire Hathaway led financials higher with 2.6% profit after the Warren Buffet-led corporation reported a 67% jump in operating profits, while PepsiCo rose 1.2% after announcing that company veteran Ramon Laguarta will replace Indra Nooyi as company CEO, which was received well by investors. 

Facebook led the tech sector higher with a 4.4% surge after the Wall Street Journal reported the company has asked major US banks for detailed financial information in preparation for launching a new service. 

Dow Jones closed up 0.16%, or 39.60 points to 25,502.18, while Standard and Poor's 500 added 0.35%, or 10.05 points to 2,850.40. NASDAQ Composite climbed 0.61%, or 47.66 points to 7,859.68. 

US-China Trade Dispute Persists 

Last week, China floated new tariffs on $60 billion worth of US products, with the date of implementation depending on US actions according to the Chinese trade ministry, which comes after China accused the US of "blackmail" amid tense trade negotiations between the two sides. 

US President Donald Trump tweeted last week that his strategy with tariffs is "working far better than anyone ever anticipated”, claiming it would make the US economy “much richer than it is today”, while causing massive losses to China's stock market. 

In the same thread, US trade Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday that the tariffs threatened on Chinese products wouldn't be "cataclysmic", as a 25% tax on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports would amount to barely 1% of China's GDP.

How Commodities Fared 

Gold futures due in December slid 0.67% to $1,215.00 an ounce, while the dollar index added 0.21% versus a basket of main currencies to 95.36, marking July 19 highs. 

US crude futures due in September added 0.51% to $68.84 a barrel, while Brent October futures rose 0.59% to $73.63 a barrel.