US Stocks Close Mixed

Reuters US equities closed mixed on Friday as traders weighed escalating US-China tensions against rosy labor-market data. President Donald Trump issued executive orders Thursday afternoon targeting TikTok-owner ByteDance and WeChat-owner Tencent. The orders ban US transactions with the apps in 45 days. The US on Friday placed sanctions on 11 Chinese officials and their counterparts in Hong Kong. On the economic data front, the US added 1.8 million jobs in July. The reading handily beat the 1.5 million increase expected by economists.