Stocks opened in positive territory as reports indicated that the U.S. has approached China on resuming trade negotiations. The averages saw their upward momentum stalled after President Trump sent a tweet suggesting the Wall Street Journal’s report was wrong and that he is not desperate to make a deal. Meanwhile, all eyes remain on Hurricane Florence, which appears to be weakening as it nears landfall in the Carolinas. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims fell 1,000 to 204,000 in the week of September 8. The consumer prices index rose 0.2% in August with the core rate up 0.1%. In Europe, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to maintain its Bank Rate at 0.75%. The European Central Bank also kept its key interest rates unchanged and said it sees ending asset purchases in December. COMPANY NEWS: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said yesterday that he thinks he could beat Donald Trump in an election “because I’m as tough as he is (and) I’m smarter than he is,” though he quickly walked back his comments and voiced his regret over saying them, adding that he does not have plans to run for president. The President issued his response via Twitter this morning, claiming “The problem with banker Jamie Dimon running for President is that he doesn’t have the aptitude or ‘smarts’ & is a poor public speaker & nervous mess – otherwise he is wonderful. I’ve made a lot of bankers, and others, look much smarter than they are with my great economic policy!” In other banking news, Goldman Sachs announced that John Waldron will become the firm’s President and Chief Operating Officer and that Stephen Scherr will become Chief Financial Officer, effective after the filing of its third quarter results. Current CFO Martin Chavez will become Vice Chairman of the firm and Co-Head of the Securities Division… Kroger (KR) shares slid 10% after the grocery giant reported better than expected quarterly profits but worse than expected sales. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Impinj (PI), which surged 42% after it reported better than expected second quarter results and provided upbeat guidance for the third quarter. Also higher was Tailored Brands (TLRD), which gained 10% after reporting quarterly results and reaffirming its guidance for fiscal 2018. Among the notable losers was WageWorks (WAGE), which fell 15% after the company said it has set up a committee to examine an earlier investigation into financial irregularities at the employee benefits administrator and after chairman Joseph Jackson and board member Mariann Byerwalter resigned. Also lower was Pivotal Software (PVTL), which fell 22% after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 138.52, or 0.53%, to 26,137.44, the Nasdaq was up 69.88, or 0.88%, to 8,024.11, and the S&P 500 was up 14.77, or 0.51%, to 2,903.69.