U.S. equities continued to grind higher this past week with the S&P 500 finishing just barely off its all-time high of $3,026, which has been surpassed in this week’s early trading.

Despite disappointing economic data out of China on Friday that renewed some global growth concerns, U.S. equities were broadly propelled higher last week by a strong start to the third quarter corporate earnings season.

Stocks posted solid gains last Friday after the White House announced that the US had reached a “phase one deal” between the US and China.

Negative readings on both the U.S. manufacturing and service sectors pushed U.S. equities broadly to a third consecutive week of losses, but stocks finished the week on a slightly more optimistic note following a relatively solid employment report.

U.S. equities broadly retreated for a second consecutive week due to weaker than expected economic data and another twist in U.S.-China trade relations.