Investing.com – The Dow rallied on Thursday, driven by gains in Boeing and optimism that the U.S. and China are closing in on a trade deal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.64%, the S&P 500 gained 0.21%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.05%.
President Donald Trump stoked investor optimism over a China-U.S. trade deal, saying talks were "moving along nicely."
But the president also cautioned that "if it’s not a great deal, we’re not doing it."
Trump's upbeat assessment helped ease investor uncertainty following mixed reports on trade. Myron Brilliant, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s executive vice president, said a trade deal is unlikely to be announced this week, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Journal reported a day earlier that Trump may announce plans for a summit with China’s President Xi Jinping later today when he meets with the country’s vice premier, Liu He.
Trade-sensitive industrials pushed the broader market higher, led by Boeing (NYSE:BA), up 2.9%. Boeing's gain contributed 75 points to the Dow's gain and came even as the aircraft maker acknowledged similarities between two deadly crashes in recent months of its 737 MAX jetliner.
A preliminary report showed that an Ethiopian Airlines flight crew followed Boeing's procedures to regain control of the plane before impact last month.
Boeing on Wednesday said its updated MCAS anti-stall software on 737 MAX 7 "worked as designed" in a test flight designed to test failure in a range of different scenarios.
Energy also powered the broader market higher despite U.S. oil prices settling 36 cents lower for the day.
In communication services, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) ended the day higher, with the latter supported by an upgrade from to buy from neutral at Guggenheim.
The upgrade arrived despite concerns about headwinds likely to weigh on growth.
"We still view the company’s video strategy as undeveloped and see the economic opportunity as limited without uniquely recognizable content and a presence on the television screen to complement the mobile experience," Guggenheim said.
In other company news, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) slumped 8.2% after the electric carmaker reported disappointing first-quarter deliveries, prompting worries that U.S. demand for its automobiles may have peaked.
Goldman Sachs reiterated its sell rating on Tesla, arguing demand was "negatively impacted by elimination of (the) tax credit for electric cars" and added that the disappointing results will likely result in downward revisions to earnings estimates.
CEO Elon Musk, meanwhile, said that he was "happy" with Judge Alison Nathan's decision on contempt charges requested by the SEC. The judge ordered both Musk and the regulator to resolve their differences within two weeks.
On the economic front, investors cheered a report showing a fall in initial jobless claims to the lowest level since 1969. This comes ahead of the crucial nonfarm payrolls report due Friday.
Top S&P 500 Gainers and Losers Today:
Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ), Macy’s (NYSE:M) and Capri Holdings (NYSE:CPRI) were among the top S&P 500 gainers for the session.
Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT), Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO) and FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.