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US-STOCKS-MARKETS
US stocks end higher with banks gaining
NEW YORK, June 29, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Wall Street stocks won solid gains on
Thursday despite lingering trade war worries, boosted by advances in
financial and technology shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.4 percent higher at 24,216.05.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent to close the day at 2,716.31,
while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.8 percent to 7,503.68.
Gainers included large banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America,
both of which rose nearly two percent.
Financial shares have been under pressure in recent sessions as Treasury
bond yields have languished. But the yield on the 10-year note rose Thursday.
Large banks were also expected to win approval from the Federal Reserve to
return money to shareholders when stress test results are released late
Thursday.
Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR, said some investors
are rebalancing their portfolios ahead of the end of the second quarter,
boosting some sectors that underperformed such as banks.
But analysts said the threat of a trade war remains a worry.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty out there,” said William Lynch of Hinsdale
Associates. “We are not getting anything concrete from the administration in
terms of what it intends to do.”
Leading pharmacy chains tumbled on news that Amazon acquired online
pharmacy PillPack for terms that were undisclosed in its biggest move yet
into healthcare.
CVS Health fell 6.1 percent, Walgreens Boots Alliance dropped 9.9 percent
and Rite Aid declined 10.9 percent. Amazon jumped 2.5 percent.
Chipotle Mexican Grill dived 6.3 percent after announcing that it expects
to spend $115 to $135 million in costs associated with a company
reorganization and the closing of underperforming restaurants.
Marvell Technology Group jumped 8.2 percent after announcing that it won
approval from Chinese regulators for its acquisition of Cavium, another data
storage company with operations in China and Taiwan.
BSS/AFP/HR/0955