Wall Street chugged mostly higher in premarket trading as Chinese and U.S. officials begin a second day of trade talks.

"We still believe the most likely outcome is slow growth and firm inflation: Not a recession, but a backdrop where the adverse effects of trade and immigration controls on growth outweigh the boost from deregulation and fiscal largesse," Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Zezas wrote.

The S&P 500 and the Dow edged up in tepid trading on Friday as investors assessed President Donald Trump's latest comments on trade discussions with the European Union and his hints that a rate cut from the U.

President Donald Trump’s vows to roll out punishing new tariffs on Aug. 1 have barely made a ripple with investors who are convinced he’ll once again back down. But at the White House, officials insist they’re serious this time.

While some Wall Street companies are clearly rallying thanks to President Donald Trump’s policies, the same can’t be said for Main Street, according to a chart from BofA Global Research strategists, led by Michael Hartnett.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Donald Trump that his name appears in Epstein investigation files.

The Dow gained while the Nasdaq lost ground on Tuesday and crude settled lower as investors assessed a spate of mixed earnings and signs that President Donald Trump's protracted trade war is hitting corporate profit margins,