NEW YORK, Dec 20, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Wall Street stocks streaked to fresh
records on Friday, propelled by continued positive sentiment on trade and
solid US economic data.
Stock markets elsewhere were mixed, while the dollar gained and oil prices
slipped on profit taking after six straight gains.
“Once you get to a new high, it doesn’t take much to get to another one,”
said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities, who described
investors as “content.”
“Tariffs are probably peaked out and we’ll probably see fewer tariffs in
2020,” Hogan said, citing last week’s US-China announcement that called off
new tariffs.
Investors are also more confident than earlier in the year that the United
States will avert a recession following a stream of mostly solid economic
data.
Official figures released Friday confirmed third-quarter US growth at 2.1
percent.
Meanwhile, the dollar, which has retreated somewhat in recent months,
advanced against major currencies, bolstered by strong US personal income and
consumer confidence data, as well as the stock market records.
Still, BK Asset Management’s Kathy Lien warned the greenback could be
vulnerable.
“The US economy is not improving as fast as everyone hopes, the central
bank has no plans to tighten, although the chance of further easing is slim
as well,” Lien said.
“We don’t expect any significant positive headlines over the next 2 weeks
which means that the risk for the dollar is still to the downside although
consolidation is the most likely.”
Bourses in Paris, Frankfurt and London also rose.
Asian equities traded mixed with investors awaiting fresh catalysts to
drive business. But with the China-US trade deal agreed and Christmas
approaching many are in wind-down mode.
Among individual companies, Boeing continued to weigh on the Dow, falling
1.7 percent as its Starliner space mission failed to achieve its objective of
docking with the International Space Station.
Officials said the autonomously flown capsule experienced a glitch
involving its onboard clock that led it to burn too much propellant, forcing
an early return to Earth on Sunday morning.
The setback comes as the aviation giant continues to face questions over
the 737 MAX, which has been grounded since March following two deadly
crashes.
On Friday, United Airlines again extended its timeframe for keeping the
plane off-line, this time through June 4, 2020.
– Key figures around 2140 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 28,455.09 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 3,221.22 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.4 percent at 8,924.96 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,582.48 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.8 percent at 13,318.90 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 6,021.53 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.0 percent at 3,776.56 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 23,816.63 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.3 percent at 27,871.35 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,004.94 (close)
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3000 from $1.3009 at 2200 GMT
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.20 pence from 85.49 pence
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1074 from $1.1122
Dollar/yen: UP at 109.47 yen from 109.37 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $66.14 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.2 percent at $60.44 per barrel