Economists call for end of US-China trade war

The S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent last week on increased expectations of a trade deal between the US and China.

The potential trade deal comes as a group of prominent economists from the US and China called for the world’s two largest economies to abandon their trade war.

In a statement issued in China on Sunday, the group of 37 economists – including Joseph Stiglitz, Michael Spence and three other Nobel winners – argued for a more sensible framework for future trade relations that would give China room to pursue industrial policies while also allowing the US latitude to respond with targeted tariffs if China’s policies were damaging its interests.

Also on Sunday, China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported that industrial profits fell 5.3 percent in September from a year earlier after having fallen 2 percent in August.