Gains in Facebook, Broadcom and Tesla lifted the Nasdaq while Home Depot was the biggest drag on the Dow after the company cut its annual forecast for the second time this year. Investors also mulled the implications of a report that U.S. and Chinese negotiators may link the size of tariff rollbacks to terms set during talks in May. Ten-year Treasury yields dipped below 1.8%, while oil tumbled for a second day.

The dollar edged higher against its major peers after President Donald Trump said he “protested” U.S. interest rates that he considers too high in a meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the White House. The Fed said Powell’s remarks were “consistent” with his recent public comments.

Investors remain sensitive to any signs of whether U.S. consumers can continue supporting economic growth and are looking for developments on trade after months of closely watched negotiations. One challenge for stocks across developed markets lies in the MSCI World index’s 21% advance this year, which has propelled the benchmark to its highest estimated price-earnings ratio since 2017.

“More and more people are concluding that the economy has some strength, that it’s strong enough to support rising stock prices,” said Kate Warne, an investment strategist at Edward D Jones & Co. in St. Louis. “While consumer spending is falling, it’s not falling off a cliff. Overall most of the news has been good, investors are feeling more confident.”

Elsewhere, European stocks ended lower. Equities fell in Tokyo and climbed in Shanghai. Gold held steady.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

–U.S. economic indicators due for release include initial jobless claims on Thursday.

–Britain holds its first televised leadership debate before next month’s election Tuesday.

–Federal Reserve speakers this week include district bank presidents John Williams, Loretta Mester and Neel Kashkari.

–European central bankers speaking this week include European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann, along with Yves Mersch, Luis de Guindos, Pablo Hernandez de Cos and Philip Lane.

–China announces its loan prime rates, a benchmark for borrowing costs, on Wednesday.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

–The S&P 500 index slipped less than 0.1% at the close of trade in New York; the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%; the Dow fell 0.4%.

–The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.1%

–The MSCI Emerging Market index gained 0.4%.

Currencies

–The Bloomberg Dollar Spot index rose less than 0.1%.

–The pound fell 0.2% to $1.2926.

–The euro increased less than 0.1% to $1.1077.

–The Japanese yen gained 0.1% to 108.55 per dollar.

Bonds

–The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped three basis points to 1.78%.

–Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.34%.

–Australia’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 1.13%.

Commodities

–West Texas Intermediate crude declined 3.2% to $55.25 a barrel.

–Gold was little changed at $1,472.17 an ounce.

The answers, released Tuesday by the House subcommittee overseeing the probe, come as antitrust scrutiny of the companies has escalated rapidly, with federal and state enforcers opening formal investigations into Facebook and Google.

The four companies received the questions from Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who chairs the panel, in September. Separately, the whole committee issued requests for extensive records on the firms’ business practices, acquisitions, executive communications and other issues. The companies also are in the process of responding to those requests.

Here’s what the four firms said:

Google

– Disputed the idea that it controls too much of the search market and the digital ad ecosystem.

– Downplayed suggestions that it prioritizes its own services.

– Denied that advertisers can only use Google Display & Video 360 ad service to purchase advertising inventory on its YouTube video platform, saying certain partners can buy ads directly from Google’s sales team.

– Denied that its search ranking system considers whether a publisher has adopted use of its Accelerated Mobile Pages – a format that hosts web content directly inside search results. Google has said that the new format significantly accelerated loading times on websites.

Facebook

– Defended policies that restricted some third-party app developers from using its platform, insisting it has never tied access to its data to spending on advertising even though documents from a lawsuit have told a different story.

– Said its changes to WhatsApp’s privacy policy were consistent with its promises not to alter the chat platform’s sharing practices.

– Explained that it restricted video app Vine from its platform in 2013 because it “considered Vine to be an app that replicated Facebook’s core News Feed functionality.”

Amazon

– Pushed back against criticism that it unfairly competes with third-party sellers in its marketplace with its own products, saying its decision-making for how third-party sellers are treated is driven by a desire to give consumers wide selection, low prices and convenient delivery.

– Defended its private-label line known as AmazonBasics, saying private-label products are a “common retail practice.” It said it “generally does not distinguish the treatment of brands” based on the brand owner.

– Said its algorithm for listing shopping results doesn’t consider whether a merchant uses its Fulfillment by Amazon logistics service or whether a product is Amazon’s private label.

– Said it prohibits its private-label business from using individual sellers’ data to make decisions about product introductions, pricing or inventory.

Apple

– Pointed out that there are many apps that compete with its own services such as web browsing, maps, music and video.

– Said users cannot uninstall its Safari web browser from the iPhone or switch to another default because Safari is “an essential part of iPhone’s functionality” as an operating system app.

– Explained that it’s not possible to reliably repair some products “because it is not feasible to split products into its component parts without significant risk of damage to those components.”

The stash, prosecutors said Tuesday, shows there’s a risk he might flee before his trial on insider-trading charges.

Vice President Bryan Cohen had $24,000 in the case, hidden in a dresser drawer in his closet, prosecutors in Manhattan said Tuesday in a letter to a judge. The French citizen also has an overseas bank account with more than $533,000 and owns four properties in France worth over $500,000, prosecutors said, citing Cohen’s tax returns.

U.S. District Judge William Pauley had set bail for Cohen at $750,000 and ordered him to remain under house arrest with a GPS bracelet until his trial. Cohen is seeking to be released from house arrest.

Cohen’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman argued in a letter on Monday that his client’s confinement in a one-bedroom apartment, which he shares with his girlfriend and mother, was detrimental to his “physical and mental health.”

The lawyer said it’s not unusual in other cultures to have large amounts of cash at home, including in France.

Cohen, 33, was arrested on Oct. 18 and charged with two counts of conspiracy for his role in an insider-trading ring. Prosecutors claim he passed information about pending mergers to another member of the ring using burner phones and speaking in code.

Goldman placed Cohen on paid leave following his arrest.

Last month, Cohen fired his lawyer after a judge ordered him to remain under house arrest and tripled the amount of his bond, from $250,000 to $750,000.

He said the ministers would have to solve economic problems for people at all levels of society, especially low-income earners.

The premier expressed his concern after a briefing yesterday by the National Economic and Social Development Council on the economic situation in the third quarter.

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said Thailand should focus more on developing the domestic economy.

President Chatchai Payuhanaveechai said the bank is setting aside a sum of Bt25 billion for the purpose.

He said the loans would offer a lending rate of a little lower than 2.99 per cent. Installments in the initial period will also be low.

The bank has outstanding mortgage loans of Bt350 billion, representing 12 per cent of the total mortgage loan share in the market.

Chatchai believes the government will continue to introduce new economic stimulus measures to lift the economy at the end of this year and the next. This will help boost consumers’ confidence.

He said the recent lending rate cut by both state and private banks would also help boost the economy.

Deputy spokeswoman Ratchada Thanadirek said the MoU will be signed by Thailand and South Korea during Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s participation in the Asean-ROK Commemorative Summit during November 25-26 in Busan, Republic of Korea.

The MoU covers collaboration between the two countries on business, industrial development in the EEC and high tech industries such as robotics, next generation automotive, smart electronics, bio technology, space technology and smart cities.

The extended grace period is meant to help rural U.S. telecom companies that rely on Huawei equipment to provide wireless internet and phone service, the Commerce Department said. But it doesn’t fundamentally change the sweeping prohibitions the U.S. has put on Huawei.

In order to purchase replacement parts and software from Huawei, rural telecom companies need to issue purchase orders containing technical information, which counts as a technology export, according to the Rural Wireless Association, a trade group to which many rural telecoms belong.

Giving them temporary permission to continue these transactions “will allow carriers to continue to service customers in some of the most remote areas of the United States who would otherwise be left in the dark,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

The United States banned tech exports to Huawei in May, adding the Chinese company to a trade blacklist. The Trump administration views Huawei as a security risk because it believes the Chinese government could tap into Huawei network gear installed abroad to spy on the West or disrupt infrastructure. U.S. officials have provided few public details to back up these concerns, which Huawei calls unfounded.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the extension of the trading window. “If President [Donald] Trump and his Commerce Department agree that Huawei is a national security threat, they should start acting like it,” he said in a statement. “Every day President Trump is soft on Huawei, the Chinese Communist Party takes that as a signal that they can continue hurting American jobs and threatening our national security without any repercussions.”

In addition to the export ban, the Trump administration is cracking down on Huawei in other ways.

On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to vote on a proposal to block U.S. telecom and internet companies from receiving federal subsidies if they buy foreign equipment from companies deemed to pose a security threat, including Huawei and fellow Chinese equipment maker ZTE. Rural telecom companies rely on these subsidies to make ends meet.

The FCC will also discuss a new proposal to require subsidy recipients to remove any existing Huawei or ZTE equipment from their networks.

Pine Telephone Company, which uses Huawei equipment in its network in rural Oklahoma, said the 90-day reprieve to continue trading with Huawei is useless if the government ultimately intends to order companies to rip out all Huawei gear.

“You want me to go buy more stuff that you’re going to ask me to rip out? Let’s make up our minds,” Jerry Whisenhunt, general manager of Pine, said by telephone Monday. He said he is purposely avoiding spending money on Huawei software upgrades for his equipment because he fears he’ll have to stop using the gear soon.

Beyond the trade allowed by the 90-day reprieve, most other U.S. tech sales to Huawei are still banned, although some U.S. companies say they are continuing to supply Huawei with parts that they say don’t violate the prohibition. The ban applies to technology made in the United States, and to products made overseas that derive more than 25% of their value from U.S.-origin technology.

Dozens of U.S. companies have asked the Commerce Department for special licenses that would excuse them from the ban and allow them to keep selling computer chips, software and other parts to Huawei. The Chinese company is one of the world’s largest sellers of telecom network gear and smartphones, and was a large buyer of U.S. technology before the trade ban.

U.S. companies seeking licenses have argued they should be able to sell Huawei parts for use in consumer technology such as smartphones, which they argue doesn’t threaten U.S. national security.

The fate of these license requests is unclear. Early this month Commerce Secretary Ross said the agency “very shortly” would approve “quite a few” of the 260 license applications it had received. But lawyers familiar with the matter say no licenses have yet been granted.

Trump has suggested Huawei’s fate is tied up in the trade talks Washington is conducting with Beijing. Despite calling Huawei a threat, Trump has suggested that the United States could ease up on the company as part of a larger deal.

The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite all fluctuated throughout the day, but ended up eking out a gain. Defensive shares such as consumer staples and utilities performed best. Word that White House would extend a license to allow U.S. companies to do business with Chinese telecom firm Huawei competed with reports that said Beijing was skeptical about reaching a broad deal anytime soon.

U.S. equities are showing their sensitivity to any developments on trade after months of closely followed negotiations. Today’s records extended gains from last week, when White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow’s had said that U.S.-China talks were nearing the final stages.

“I don’t know how many times we’ve seen optimism turn into pessimism,” said Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Trust, in Santa Ana, California, which manages around $1.7 billion. “If it was easy, it would already be signed.”

Meanwhile, the dollar extended a slide after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell met with President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday to discuss the economy. Japanese and Chinese equities closed higher, while stocks slipped in India and Australia. Hong Kong’s market outperformed, even as unrest in the city continued.

Most members of the Stoxx Europe 600 index fell. The pound jumped as the Conservative Party maintained its poll lead less than a month before U.K. elections.

China’s yuan dipped after the country’s central bank lowered borrowing costs on short-term loans for the first time since 2015 and injected $26 billion into the financial system. The moves were seen as aimed at shoring up confidence following a string of poor data in the second-biggest economy.

On the energy front, Saudi Arabia set an IPO valuation target for Aramco well below the kingdom’s goal of $2 trillion and pared back the size of the sale. It looks set to rely on local investors after most international money managers balked at even the reduced price target.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

–U.S. economic indicators due for release include housing starts Tuesday and initial jobless claims on Thursday.

–Britain holds its first televised leadership debate before next month’s election Tuesday.

–Federal Reserve speakers this week include district bank presidents John Williams, Loretta Mester and Neel Kashkari.

–European central bankers speaking this week include European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann, along with Yves Mersch, Luis de Guindos, Pablo Hernandez de Cos and Philip Lane.

–China announces its loan prime rates, a benchmark for borrowing costs, on Wednesday.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

–The S&P 500 index rose less than 0.1% at the close of trading in New York.

–The Stoxx Europe 600 index was little changed.

–Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.3%.

Currencies

–The Bloomberg Dollar Spot index fell 0.1%.

–The euro strengthened 0.2% to $1.1075.

–The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 108.65 per dollar.

–The offshore yuan sank 0.3% to 7.0254 per dollar.

–The British pound gained 0.5% to $1.2955.

Bonds

–The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped two basis points to 1.81%.

–Britain’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 0.75%.

–Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.34%.

–Italy’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 1.21%.

Commodities

–West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 1.5% to $56.84 a barrel.

–Gold rose 0.2% to $1,471.77 an ounce.

Don Nakornthab, a senior director at the Bank of Thailand (BOT), expressed optimism despite gross domestic product in the third quarter growing just 2.4 per cent year on year.

The growth rate in the third quarter from August to October was a bit higher than the 2.3 per cent  growth rate in the second quarter but the growth rate remained lower than expected, he said.

He, however, foresees a better economic performance due to the positive impact of government spending and public investment in infrastructure projects. But future growth would still be below Thailand’s economic potential, he said.

The outcome of public investment still needed to be monitored closely, he said, referring to the delay in investment.

Global geopolitical risks remain, he said, adding, the US-China trade war had resulted in more trade barriers and remained a risk factor for the  Thai economy.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index rose 5.77 points on Monday (November 18) to close at 1,608 points.

“The market expects more government stimulus, following slower growth in the third quarter,” said Kobsithi Silpachai, head of capital markets research at Kasikornbank.

He said due to the relatively strong fiscal  position, the government has plenty of room to stimulate the economy.

The government is targeting fiscal deficit at Bt469 billion for fiscal 2020, with plans to spend Bt3.2 trillion.

Even though the Thai economy remains in slow growth mode, the baht continued to trade strong at around Bt30.24 to the US dollar yesterday. Investors still see baht-denominated assets as a safe haven due to Thailand’s high current account surplus. Thailand also has ample international reserves of $220 billion.

The central bank has recently  cut its key interest rate to 1.25 per cent and introduced measures to encourage capital outflows but it has had little effect in reining in the baht.

“It doesn’t work, the central bank’s move is too little and too late,” said Kobsithi. The stronger baht relative to other currencies has aggravated the problems of Thai exporters in selling their products given the global slowdown.

To strengthen the economy, we need structural reforms, Kobsithi suggested.

“Our ageing population means we are becoming more and more like Japan each day,” he said, adding that monetary stimulus will become less effective.

The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak on Monday (November 18).

The committee assigned the Digital Government Development Agency (Public Organisation), or DGA, to coordinate with related agencies to promote the adoption of digital technology in enhancing operations and public services.

The committee will also submit soon for Cabinet approval the plan’s goals, which are developing the skills of state officials to possess digital proficiency in three years and the creation of digital platforms for all state agencies, through which they can provide public services.

The others include the cancellation of the need for copies of ID cards and house registration papers in one year and the use of data analytics to enable state agencies to capitalse on the massive digital database to improve their public services.