Trade war fears still a dampener on stocks

US STOCKS rose last week as investors breathed a sigh of relief at the election results, but fears that the trade war would resume kept a cap on the gains.

This week, a closed-door confrontation between the leaders of the world's two largest economies will determine whether the bulls run freely again or investors are forced to take cover from the shootout.

Investors were nervous ahead of the mid-term elections, because of shock results in the 2016 presidential election and Brexit vote.

Markets were on edge early last week because of fears that a shock Democratic sweep of the House and Senate would lead to fewer business-friendly policies. In t…