Investors keeping eye on US-China trade, earnings and Treasury yields

US stocks finished a volatile week more or less flat as traders weighed strong earnings against signs that trade disputes between the US and China are pinching global trade.

Stocks could rebound this week amid earnings from companies such as Facebook, and reports that North Korea is dismantling its nuclear programme. However, the surge of Treasury yields to the highest level since 2014 could put a stick in the spokes of any rally.

Most Wall Street strategists argue that both Washington and Beijing are pushing towards a grand détente. But all agree that the clock is ticking on negotiations as the barriers proliferating on each side become more difficult to take down.

"Investor behaviour seems to confirm our opinion that trade rhetoric on both sides is, for now, simply negotiating tactics," said Tim Shirata, executive vice-president for money manager Guild Investments. "The US administration has a base of support that responds well to trade rhetoric, but for whom jobs and economic growth are the place w…