U.S. stock indexes were higher Thursday afternoon, but off the session’s best levels which saw new intraday record highs, after President Donald Trump tweeted that the U.S. is “getting very close to a big deal with China,” signaling that tariffs set to go into effect Sunday may be avoided.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.78% was 134 points, 0.5%, higher, at 28,045, at midday, while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.72% gained about 18 points, or 0.6% to 3,160, and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.53% added 36 points, or 0.4%, to 8,690.
All three main stock benchmarks touched intraday highs Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, the Dow rose 29.58 points, 0.11%, Wednesday, closing at 27,911.30, the S&P 500 index closed 9.11 points, 0.29%, higher, at 3,141.63, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.53% rose 37.87 points, 0.44%, to 8,654.05.
Shock poll: Talarico ties Paxton in Texas Senate race, threatening GOP stronghold
GOP infighting over Trump’s voter ID bill erupts as top senator calls strategy ‘fantasy’
CA Neighbors Furious as Alleged Anti-Trump HOA Gets Ultimate Revenge in Lead Up to July 4
Priceless Video: ICE Guards Have to Protect Rioters from Female Employee Raging After They Hit Her Car
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce reported MSG wedding plans call for 1,000 guests, street closure at MSG: source
Heartbroken father blasts ‘broken’ system that let family massacre take his children before they could reunite
MS Now’s Longest-Running Anchor Is Out As Struggling Network Pivots to More Reliance on Podcasts
House GOP’s SAVE Act rescue plan hits resistance from conservative holdouts
Trump’s massive GOP faith bloc raises red flag on Iran deal: Trust him, not his team
Socialists take fight west, target Colorado in latest bid to oust Democratic Party establishment
Fetterman unleashes on ‘dirtbag’ wing of Dems after far-left victories: ‘Orgy of socialism’
Trump supporters rip Amy Coney Barrett after Supreme Court setbacks
A California dog rescue hid a grim secret: more than 100 dogs buried beneath it
DuckDuckGo’s AI Assistant Claims Trump and Vance Have Died from Rabies
CBS crew attacked by multiple men near Chicago museum, suspects arrested: police
The president said on Twitter Thursday that the U.S. and China are nearing a “big deal” that could avoid fresh tariffs, planned to go in effect Dec. 15, and potentially roll back some existing duties, sending U.S. stocks to at or near record levels.
Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China. They want it, and so do we!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2019
A report from the Wall Street Journal indicated U.S. trade negotiators are offering to cancel new China tariffs and reduce existing levies on Chinese goods by up to 50% on $360 billion worth of imports.
“This has become a buy high, sell higher market, and today’s strength is related to a US-China trade deal that seems to be coming together,” Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, told MarketWatch.
Shock poll: Talarico ties Paxton in Texas Senate race, threatening GOP stronghold
GOP infighting over Trump’s voter ID bill erupts as top senator calls strategy ‘fantasy’
CA Neighbors Furious as Alleged Anti-Trump HOA Gets Ultimate Revenge in Lead Up to July 4
Priceless Video: ICE Guards Have to Protect Rioters from Female Employee Raging After They Hit Her Car
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce reported MSG wedding plans call for 1,000 guests, street closure at MSG: source
Heartbroken father blasts ‘broken’ system that let family massacre take his children before they could reunite
MS Now’s Longest-Running Anchor Is Out As Struggling Network Pivots to More Reliance on Podcasts
House GOP’s SAVE Act rescue plan hits resistance from conservative holdouts
Trump’s massive GOP faith bloc raises red flag on Iran deal: Trust him, not his team
Socialists take fight west, target Colorado in latest bid to oust Democratic Party establishment
Fetterman unleashes on ‘dirtbag’ wing of Dems after far-left victories: ‘Orgy of socialism’
Trump supporters rip Amy Coney Barrett after Supreme Court setbacks
A California dog rescue hid a grim secret: more than 100 dogs buried beneath it
DuckDuckGo’s AI Assistant Claims Trump and Vance Have Died from Rabies
CBS crew attacked by multiple men near Chicago museum, suspects arrested: police
Trump’s tweet followed the Federal Reserve leaving interest rates unchanged on Wednesday while expressing optimism about U.S. economic health.
Similarly, on Thursday the European Central Bank decided to keep its main deposit rate at negative 0.5%, while maintaining its rate of asset purchases at €20 billion a month, as widely expected by analysts. The ECB meeting was the first presided over by new President Christine Lagarde.
“We’re in an easy money environment, thanks to Jerome Powell, Christine Lagarde and central bankers around the world,” said Yousef Abbasi, director of U.S. institutional equities and global market strategist at INTL FCStone, in an interview.
In the U.S., “We’re not going to get any hikes in 2020 and at least for the first half of next year, the Fed is going to be buying assets hand over fist,” Abbasi added, referring to the Fed’s plan to expand its balance sheet through purchases of U.S. Treasury bills, in order to improve daily liquidity in money markets.
Shock poll: Talarico ties Paxton in Texas Senate race, threatening GOP stronghold
GOP infighting over Trump’s voter ID bill erupts as top senator calls strategy ‘fantasy’
CA Neighbors Furious as Alleged Anti-Trump HOA Gets Ultimate Revenge in Lead Up to July 4
Priceless Video: ICE Guards Have to Protect Rioters from Female Employee Raging After They Hit Her Car
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce reported MSG wedding plans call for 1,000 guests, street closure at MSG: source
Heartbroken father blasts ‘broken’ system that let family massacre take his children before they could reunite
MS Now’s Longest-Running Anchor Is Out As Struggling Network Pivots to More Reliance on Podcasts
House GOP’s SAVE Act rescue plan hits resistance from conservative holdouts
Trump’s massive GOP faith bloc raises red flag on Iran deal: Trust him, not his team
Socialists take fight west, target Colorado in latest bid to oust Democratic Party establishment
Fetterman unleashes on ‘dirtbag’ wing of Dems after far-left victories: ‘Orgy of socialism’
Trump supporters rip Amy Coney Barrett after Supreme Court setbacks
A California dog rescue hid a grim secret: more than 100 dogs buried beneath it
DuckDuckGo’s AI Assistant Claims Trump and Vance Have Died from Rabies
CBS crew attacked by multiple men near Chicago museum, suspects arrested: police
Meanwhile, the U.K. is holding a general election on Thursday which will play a crucial role in determining the course of its plans to exit from out of the European Union. Recent polling figures, indicate Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party is most likely to win, but his lead has narrowed over the rival Labour Party, injecting some doubt into the outcome.
In U.S. economic data, new unemployment claims jumped by 49,000 to 252,000 during the week ended Dec. 7, the Labor Department said Thursday, the highest level since Sept. 2017, though the data was likely affected by the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Wholesale price inflation remained tame, with the producer-price index unchanged in November, with core producer prices, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, falling to a three-year low of 1.3%.
Shares of General Electric Co. GE, +4.74% gained 3.6%Thursday, after UBS analyst Markus Mittermaier upgraded shares to the equivalent of “buy” from “hold” and raised his price target to $14 from $11.50, compared with the stock’s $10.97 closing price Wednesday.
Starbucks Corp. SBUX, +2.09% stock rose nearly 2% after it was upgraded to overweight from neutral by J.P. Morgan, after a meeting with company management.
Shock poll: Talarico ties Paxton in Texas Senate race, threatening GOP stronghold
GOP infighting over Trump’s voter ID bill erupts as top senator calls strategy ‘fantasy’
CA Neighbors Furious as Alleged Anti-Trump HOA Gets Ultimate Revenge in Lead Up to July 4
Priceless Video: ICE Guards Have to Protect Rioters from Female Employee Raging After They Hit Her Car
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce reported MSG wedding plans call for 1,000 guests, street closure at MSG: source
Heartbroken father blasts ‘broken’ system that let family massacre take his children before they could reunite
MS Now’s Longest-Running Anchor Is Out As Struggling Network Pivots to More Reliance on Podcasts
House GOP’s SAVE Act rescue plan hits resistance from conservative holdouts
Trump’s massive GOP faith bloc raises red flag on Iran deal: Trust him, not his team
Socialists take fight west, target Colorado in latest bid to oust Democratic Party establishment
Fetterman unleashes on ‘dirtbag’ wing of Dems after far-left victories: ‘Orgy of socialism’
Trump supporters rip Amy Coney Barrett after Supreme Court setbacks
A California dog rescue hid a grim secret: more than 100 dogs buried beneath it
DuckDuckGo’s AI Assistant Claims Trump and Vance Have Died from Rabies
CBS crew attacked by multiple men near Chicago museum, suspects arrested: police
Delta Air Lines DAL, +3.08% said Thursday it expects to generate per-share earnings of $6.75 to $7.75 in 2020 as revenue grows 4% to 6%. Shares rose 3.4% Thursday.
Southwest Airlines LUV, +1.39% said Thursday it has reached a settlement with Boeing BA, -0.54%, over the grounding of its 737 Max fleet totaling about $125 million and that it will share the money with its employees. The company’s stock rose 1.9%.
Lululemon Athletica LULU, -3.94% fell more than 5% after the apparel retailer reported an adjusted third-quarter profit below Wall Street expectations late Wednesday.
Disney + DIS, +0.30% has been downloaded 22 million times to mobile devices in what is probably the most successful launch in the nascent industry’s history, according to app-tracking firm Apptopia.Shares gained 0.1%.
Apple AAPL, +0.09% saw its China iPhone shipments fall sharply in November, according to Credit Suisse.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, +6.19% surged 8 basis points to 1.88% as investors monitored ECB and trade developments.
Shock poll: Talarico ties Paxton in Texas Senate race, threatening GOP stronghold
GOP infighting over Trump’s voter ID bill erupts as top senator calls strategy ‘fantasy’
CA Neighbors Furious as Alleged Anti-Trump HOA Gets Ultimate Revenge in Lead Up to July 4
Priceless Video: ICE Guards Have to Protect Rioters from Female Employee Raging After They Hit Her Car
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce reported MSG wedding plans call for 1,000 guests, street closure at MSG: source
Heartbroken father blasts ‘broken’ system that let family massacre take his children before they could reunite
MS Now’s Longest-Running Anchor Is Out As Struggling Network Pivots to More Reliance on Podcasts
House GOP’s SAVE Act rescue plan hits resistance from conservative holdouts
Trump’s massive GOP faith bloc raises red flag on Iran deal: Trust him, not his team
Socialists take fight west, target Colorado in latest bid to oust Democratic Party establishment
Fetterman unleashes on ‘dirtbag’ wing of Dems after far-left victories: ‘Orgy of socialism’
Trump supporters rip Amy Coney Barrett after Supreme Court setbacks
A California dog rescue hid a grim secret: more than 100 dogs buried beneath it
DuckDuckGo’s AI Assistant Claims Trump and Vance Have Died from Rabies
CBS crew attacked by multiple men near Chicago museum, suspects arrested: police
West Texas Intermediate crude CLF22, -1.03% on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 70 cents, or 1.2%, to $59.46 a barrel, after a 0.7% decline on Wednesday.
February gold GCG20, -0.32% on Comex fell $1.50, or 0.1%, to $1,474 an ounce, with the metal on track for a third gain in a row.
The U.S. dollar, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.08%, was virtually unchanged at 97.44, against a basket of a half-dozen currency peers.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Europe index SXXP, +0.33% was trading 0.3% higher at 407.58.
Story cited here.
