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US-STOCKS-MARKETS
S&P, Nasdaq post fourth straight record close
NEW YORK, Aug 30, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Rising optimism on the success of North
American trade talks brought further joy to Wall Street on Wednesday, driving
the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to close at new records for the fourth straight
session.
The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 percent, closing at
26,124.57, while the broader S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent to finish at
2,914.04.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped a full percentage point to end at 8,109.69.
US President Donald Trump joined Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in
signaling that talks to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement were
headed in the right direction.
“I think they’re going really well,” Trump said at the White House, as US
and Canadian trade officials continued talks nearby to rewrite the North
American Free Trade Agreement.
Two days earlier, Trump had threatened to cut Ottawa out of a deal and
proceed with Mexico alone.
Good economic news also buoyed stocks after the Commerce Department
reported US GDP grew 4.2 percent in the second quarter, even stronger than
initially reported due to a bump in business investment.
The upward revision made for unusually active trading in late August ahead
of a holiday weekend.
Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments told AFP the recent bullish trend
reflected the combination of strong corporate earnings, robust economic
growth, tax cuts and fiscal stimulus.
“We have a very bullish fundamental backdrop, which has warranted higher
stock prices,” he said.
But Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities said Wednesday’s upward
momentum was largely due to “hopes of a breakthrough in the Canadian trade
talks.”
The Nasdaq powered higher on a rally in shares of Apple, Amazon and
Google-parent Alphabet.
Amazon and Alphabet shares soared 3.4 percent and 1.5 percent,
respectively, after Morgan Stanley raised its price targets for those stocks.
Google did not seem to suffer from Trump’s latest attack on the company
and threats to regulate the internet search engine.
Apple also rose 1.5 percent to an all-time high at $223.02 a share.
BSS/AFP/HR/1020