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US-STOCKS-MARKETS
Nasdaq ends at record on US-EU trade announcement
NEW YORK, July 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Wall Street stocks finished solidly
higher Wednesday, with the Nasdaq surging to a fresh record as the US and the
European Union announced an agreement on their trade dispute.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.7 percent at 25,414.10.
The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.9 percent to 2,846.07, while the tech-
rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.2 percent to 7,932.24, topping a record
set last week by about 77 points.
Markets had been eyeing talks between US President Donald Trump and EU
Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker at the White House held as the US had
threatened deep tariffs on imported cars.
Trump, at a brief White House ceremony shortly after the market closed,
said the two side reached a “new phase” in US-EU relations and that the two
sides would work toward “zero tariffs” on non-auto industrial goods.
Juncker said he “made a deal” with Trump on trade.
“We have identified a number of areas to work together,” Juncker said.
Stocks began rallying after a Wall Street Journal report about 30 minutes
before the closing bell that said that Trump had secured concessions from
Europe to avert a trade war.
“We need the details, but it seems that we avoided the war,” said Gregori
Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets.
Worries about the trade conflict battered auto stocks Wednesday,
especially after both General Motors and Fiat Chrysler cut their full-year
forecasts.
GM fell 4.6 percent, while FCA plummeted 11.9 percent.
Ford, which was scheduled to report earnings later Wednesday, dipped 0.6
percent.
AT&T dropped 4.5 percent after reporting a 2.1 percent drop in second-
quarter revenues to $39.0 billion in its first earnings report after
completing the Time Warner acquisitions.
Coca-Cola gained 1.8 percent after reporting that second-quarter profits
surged 69 percent to $2.3 billion as soda sales picked up in its home North
American market.
BSS/AFP/HR/1025