Business Standard

Wall Street hits fresh record highs on trade deal hopes, robust data

US economic growth picked up slightly in the third quarter, rather than slowing as initially reported, while consumer spending rose steadily in October

wall street

Reuters

Wall Street's main indexes notched fresh record highs on Wednesday, as data pointed to a resilient domestic economy and investors remained optimistic about a resolution to the US-China trade war.

US economic growth picked up slightly in the third quarter, rather than slowing as initially reported, while consumer spending rose steadily in October, suggesting a moderate pace of economic expansion in the fourth quarter.

"So long as the consumer stays somewhat strong, the markets are in decent shape," said Sahak Manuelian, managing director, equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.

Consumer discretionary stocks rose 0.67 per cent.

Data also showed new orders for key US-made capital goods increased by the most in nine months in October.

 

President Donald Trump's comments on Tuesday that the United States was in the "final throes" of work on an agreement added to optimism.

"There are not a lot of details (on the trade deal), but it has certainly fueled this 'hope trade' and so long as nothing gets signed, the market will grind its way higher," Manuelian said.

The main indexes have scaled record levels this month on trade truce hopes, upbeat third-quarter earnings and a dovish Federal Reserve.

At 11:24 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 was up 4.54 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 3,145.06 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 34.81 points, or 0.40 per cent, at 8,682.75.

However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 13.23 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 28,108.45, weighed down by Boeing Co.

The planemaker's shares slipped 0.83 per cent after the Federal Aviation Administration said it would be the only issuer of airworthiness certificates for new 737 MAX planes, potentially affecting the timeline of starting deliveries by December.

Boeing was also hit by a report that 777X's fuselage ruptured during a September stress test.

Deere & Co dropped 4.7 per cent as the farm equipment maker warned of lower earnings in 2020.

Under Armour Inc jumped 3.9 per cent as Raymond James upgraded the sportswear maker to "strong buy".

Trading volumes are expected to be light ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday and an early-market close on Black Friday.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.31-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.55-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 34 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 82 new highs and 25 new lows.

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Nov 27 2019 | 10:54 PM IST

Explore News