Stocks Ended Mixed Friday, Logged Strong August Gains

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday, as investors kept an eye on trade talks between the U.S. and Canada. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.10 points, or 0.09%, to 25,964.82. The S&P 500 gained 0.39 points, or 0.01%, to 2,901.52. The Nasdaq Composite added 21.17 points, or 0.26%, to 8,109.54. For August, the Dow advancd 2.2%, the S&P 500 posteda 3% monthly rise and the Nasdaq rallied 5.7%.

Oil ended lower Friday, as the U.S.-China trade dispute feeds worries about demand, but prices held on to a solid gain for the month. October West Texas Intermediate crude fell 45 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $69.80 a barrel. The October contract ended the week 1.6% higher and finished the month of August with a rise of about 3.2%. Brent crude shed 35 cents, or nearly 0.5%, to $77.42 a barrel. The contract saw a weekly rise of 2.1% and a monthly climb of about 4.3%.

U.S. President Donald Trump notified Congress on Friday of his intent to sign a trade agreement with Mexico after talks with Canada broke up on Friday with no immediate deal to revamp the tri-nation North American Free Trade Agreement.