Stocks erase losses as worries over China tensions fizzle

Stocks closed out a solid week on Wall Street Friday with a late-afternoon rebound after worries that President Donald Trump would reignite a costly trade war with China faded.

The benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.5 per cent, recovering from a one per cent slide after Trump outlined several actions in response to a move by China to exert more control over Hong Kong but steered clear of upending a trade pact struck with Beijing earlier this year. The S&P 500 ended the month 4.5 per cent higher, its second monthly gain in a row. The world’s two largest economies agreed to a Phase 1 trade deal in January after more than a year of talks and billions of dollars in tariffs imposed on each other’s imports.