ZCZC
BCN-15
US-STOCKS-MARKETS
US stocks push higher on trade deal optimism
NEW YORK, April 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Wall Street stocks rose Wednesday,
shrugging off disappointing economic data to advance amid optimism over US-
China trade talks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 percent to 26,218.13.
The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.2 percent to 2,873.40, while the tech-
rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.6 percent to 7,895.55.
Hopes remained high that Washington and Beijing could soon reach a major
trade agreement that averts higher tariffs.
Analysts pointed to a report in The Financial Times that said the United
States and China had resolved most issues and that trade talks resuming
Wednesday in Washington could be “potentially climactic.”
“The momentum certainly seems to be continue to be on the upside,” said
Bill Lynch of Hinsdale Associates. “There’s more positive sentiment with
respect to a possible deal between the US and China.”
US services sector activity slowed more than expected in March, according
to the Institute for Supply Management.
Meanwhile, payrolls firm ADP estimated that the United States added just
129,000 jobs in March, much lower than the 178,000 economists had been
expecting.
The report comes ahead of Friday’s more important Department of Labor jobs
data for March.
Chip companies were an especially strong group, with Advanced Micro
Devices winning 8.5 percent, Lam Research 4.0 percent and Micron Technology
3.4 percent.
But Caterpillar fell 0.6 percent after it was downgraded by Deutsche Bank
due to the weakening global growth outlook.
“Synchronized global growth has collapsed,” said the Deutsche note.
BSS/AFP/HR/1020