By Medha Singh
(Reuters) - Technology and media stocks pushed Wall Street higher on Wednesday and helped the Nasdaq hit a record high, as markets eyed a recovery after being battered by a rapidly escalating China-U.S. trade tensions.
Twenty-First Century Fox jumped 6.1 percent after Walt Disney sweetened its bid to $71.3 billion, topping Comcast's offer. Disney and Comcast were both marginally higher.
The so-called FAANG stocks, Facebook, Alphabet, Amazon, Netflix and Apple, were up between 0.7 percent and 1.7 percent.
Markets were slammed on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average erasing its year-to-date gains, after President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats against Chinese goods.
The United States is also under fire from other countries for its protectionist measures. The European Union will start charging import duties of 25 percent on a range of U.S. products from Friday after Washington imposed tariffs on EU steel and aluminum at the start of June.
"A lot of people believe the track that the (U.S.) President is taking is a negotiation tactic. And the people who still think the trade war will develop, believe it would be China that comes to the table with concessions first," said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist and senior portfolio manager at SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York
"This gives people reason to feel a little bit more comfortable with buying."
At 9:59 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 59.71 points, or 0.24 percent, at 24,759.92, the S&P 500 was up 8.92 points, or 0.32 percent, at 2,771.51 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 50.22 points, or 0.65 percent, at 7,775.81.
Six of the 11 main S&P index groups were higher, with defensive sectors such as telecom, utilities, and consumer staples among the decliners.
The blue-chip Dow index rose after a six-day losing streak.
Industrial equipment maker Caterpillar was up 0.6 percent, while Boeing was 1.5 percent higher. The stocks are among those likely to be hit hard by a trade war.
Chip stocks, which derive a large part of their revenue from China, also gained.
The 30-stock Dow is set to lose its last remaining original member, General Electric Co. The 126-year-old industrial conglomerate will be replaced by drug store retailer Walgreens from June 26.
Walgreens rose 3.5 percent while GE gained 3.5 percent.
Starbucks fell 4.5 percent after the world's largest coffee chain's quarterly sales growth forecast missed analysts' estimates.
Oracle dropped 6.2 percent after the software maker's current-quarter profit forecast fell short of analysts' expectations.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.46-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.11-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 19 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 117 new highs and 18 new lows.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
