NEW YORK, Aug 4 — Wall Street stocks inched higher early today after big gains in the prior session as markets eyed stimulus negotiations in Washington and brittle US-China relations.

Talks were ongoing between Republican and Democratic leaders on another round of relief funding to support the coronavirus-battered US economy. Supplemental unemployment benefits expired last week.

China accused the United States of “bullying” over popular video app TikTok after President Donald Trump ramped up pressure for its US operations to be sold to an American company.

Tensions over TikTok are the latest matter to exacerbate relations between the two economic superpowers.

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About 40 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 per cent at 26,684.13.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.1 per cent at 3,299.22, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.3 per cent to 10,938.30.

Among individual companies, Ford rose 2.0 per cent after announcing that Jim Hackett would resign as chief executive and be replaced by longtime auto executive Jim Farley. — AFP

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