Get 40% Off
⚠ Earnings Alert! Which stocks are poised to surge?
See the stocks on our ProPicks radar. These strategies gained 19.7% year-to-date.
Unlock full list

Wall Street crawls to record levels on trade hopes

Published 11/26/2019, 04:22 PM
Updated 11/26/2019, 04:22 PM
© Reuters. Traders work on the floor at the NYSE in New York

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks crawled higher on Tuesday, and all three major Wall Street indexes notched record levels, as upbeat comments by President Donald Trump on trade talks eclipsed some softer-than-anticipated economic data.

Trump said the United States and China were close to an agreement on the first phase of a deal, while stressing Washington's support for protesters in Hong Kong, a point of contention between the world's two largest economies.

"Right now the characterization is things are pretty good so we are kind of gaining on it, but until it is done, it is not done," said Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina. "So a holding pattern is probably, unfortunately, a very appropriate place for the market to be right about now."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 55.21 points, or 0.2%, to 28,121.68, the S&P 500 (SPX) gained 6.88 points, or 0.22%, to 3,140.52 and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) added 15.45 points, or 0.18%, to 8,647.93.

Walt Disney Co (N:DIS) gained 1.30% after a report that its streaming service was averaging nearly 1 million new subscribers a day. The stock helped keep the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the plus side, providing about 20 points to the upside.

Rising hopes for a trade deal between the world's two largest economies, solid U.S. economic indicators and a third-quarter corporate earnings season that has largely topped lowered expectations have pushed stocks higher. The three major indexes have now notched a record close in five of the past eight sessions.

Also supporting stocks has been the dovish turn by the Federal Reserve, which has cut interest rates three times this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Monday that monetary policy was "well positioned" to support the strong labor market.

Investors are watching for signs on the health of the consumer for the holiday shopping season. Consumer confidence fell for a fourth straight month in November but remained at levels sufficient to support a steady pace of consumer spending, according to data on Tuesday. A separate report showed that new home sales unexpectedly dropped in October, although data for the prior month was revised up, with purchases hitting their highest level in over 12 years.

Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher. The consumer discretionary sector (SPLRCD) rose 0.81% and provided the biggest boost, led by a 9.86% jump in shares of Best Buy Co Inc (N:BBY) following a strong holiday-quarter profit forecast.

In contrast, Dollar Tree Inc (O:DLTR) tumbled 15.24% after it projected holiday-quarter profit below estimates, signaling the fallout from the trade dispute.

Best Buy was the best performer on the S&P 500, while Dollar Tree was the biggest drag on both the S&P and the Nasdaq.

Among other stocks, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (N:HPE) fell 8.48% as the enterprise software maker missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 7.96 billion shares, compared to the 7.12 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Trading volume is expected to lighten considerably in the sessions surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.34-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.01-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 36 new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 120 new highs and 66 new lows.

© Reuters. Traders work on the floor at the NYSE in New York

Latest comments

BIGGEST bubble in history!!!!!
Hahah white house
White house lock down..!?
WHITE HOUSE locked down..!? Whst happen?
Show me the beast. 40 out of 500 made New Highs yesterday. HEHEHE.....HEHEHEHEE
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.