What happened
Shares of iQiyi (IQ 4.99%) jumped 10.5% on Thursday despite a lack of company-specific news. Rather, with shares of the Chinese video streaming leader down nearly 35% from its February highs, traders seem to be placing bets that iQiyi could rebound on any good news stemming from planned trade talks this weekend between China and the United States.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
So what
To be clear, iQiyi shares ultimately drifted higher throughout the day today. And apart from a press release last night highlighting an award for iQiyi's AI+VR Media Innovation Platform, there were no new reports, SEC filings, or analyst notes that might otherwise have driven the stock's steady rise.
It likely helped, however, that broader market indexes also climbed -- with the Nasdaq Composite up 0.7% and the S&P 500 adding 0.4% -- despite mixed messages on trade from both countries. On one hand, Chinese media reported last night that U.S. and Chinese government officials have tentatively agreed to resume broader talks aimed at quelling their ongoing trade war. But Trump economic advisor Larry Kudlow, on the other hand, suggested this afternoon that's not the case and hinted that the U.S. is planning to push forward with tariff increases.
Now what
Barring an update on iQiyi's financial performance between now and its next quarterly report late next month, it seems shareholders will remain at the mercy of both U.S.-China trade progress and the broader market's movements. Until then, investors would do well to take these kinds of big no-news moves with a grain of salt.
