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US-STOCKS-MARKETS
US stocks gain on trade optimism
NEW YORK, Oct 11, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Wall Street stocks finished with solid
gains Thursday on hopes for progress in the US-China trade dispute after
President Donald Trump announced he would meet with China’s top trade envoy.
The market rallied following Trump’s tweet announcing a planned meeting
Friday with Vice Premier Liu He, raising hopes about prospects for high-level
trade negotiations that resumed Thursday.
Stocks have gyrated this week in response to conflicting signals from
Washington and Beijing, tumbling after the US announced new restrictions on
Chinese companies over human rights abuses and rallying on reports
emphasizing the possibility of a narrow agreement that averts further
tariffs.
“As it has been the case all week, the trade talks with China dominated
headlines this morning, and the President’s tweets in the topic triggered the
rally in stocks and global risk assets,” said Gorilla Trades strategist Ken
Berman.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished with an increase of 0.6 percent
to 26,496.67.
The broad-based S&P 500 also gained 0.6 percent to close at 2,938.13, as
did the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index, which ended at 7,950.78.
The talks come ahead of new tariffs scheduled to take effect next week and
aim to resolve a trade war that has been going on for more than a year.
Elsewhere, US data showed that consumer inflation held steady in
September, with lower energy costs offsetting upward pressures in prices for
housing and medical care.
Among individual companies, Delta Air Lines shed 1.5 percent after it
projected lower than expected fourth quarter profits. Earnings in the third
quarter rose 13.1 percent to $1.5 billion.
Bed Bath & Beyond surged 21.5 percent as it named Mark Tritton as its new
chief executive. Tritton, chief merchandising officer at Target, joins the
retailer as it faces pressure from activist investors due to slumping sales.
BSS/AFP/HR/0945