The major indices are mixed in response to the confirmation that US-China had reached a preliminary trade deal.  The tech-heavy Nasdaq is getting a lift from Apple (AAPL) that hit a new all-time high.

Early in the morning, Chinese officials confirmed that a deal had been reached.  Officials said the two sides will “agree to complete the last stages of the deal as soon as possible.”

President Trump confirmed that a trade deal had been reached. In addition, the U.S. Trade Representative said it will keep 25% tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports and 7.5% tariffs on $120 billion of Chinese goods.

The two defensive S&P sectors (Consumer Staples and Utilities), and Technology are higher today.   

On the economic front, business inventories increased 0.2% in October, recovering from a revised 0.1% drop in September and matching market expectations.

• Retail inventories +0.3%
• Manufacturing and Wholesale inventories +0.1%