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US stocks gain on Brexit progress, Netflix results
NEW YORK, Oct 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Wall Street stocks rose Thursday after
Britain and the EU announced a new Brexit deal and as Netflix and Morgan
Stanley gained on solid earnings.
Analysts welcomed news that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reached
an agreement with European Union leaders on a divorce deal that amends the
prior agreement’s provisions on the border between Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland.
Markets shrugged off opposition to the agreement from Northern Ireland’s
Democratic Unionist Party, which could potentially sink the agreement.
Alan Skrainka of Cornerstone Wealth Management acknowledged there were
doubts about the deal’s prospects but said “this is really the first tangible
sign of progress we’ve had in some time.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1 percent, closing at 27,025.88.
The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.3 percent to 2,997.95, while the tech-
rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.4 percent to 8,156.85.
Besides Brexit and developments in the grinding US-China trade war,
investors have been focused on corporate earnings this week.
The latest batch of results were mixed, with IBM diving 5.5 percent after
reporting a four percent drop in revenues to $18.0 billion.
But Netflix gained 2.5 percent as it reported a 65 percent increase in
quarterly profits to $665 million and executives expressed confidence despite
increased competition from Disney, Apple and others in video streaming.
Morgan Stanley advanced 1.5 percent after reporting a 2.9 percent increase
in quarterly earnings to $2.2 billion, due in part to a strong performance in
its trading division.
Among other companies reporting results, Alcoa surged 6.0 percent and
Honeywell International gained 2.4 percent.
BSS/AFP/HR/1010