S&P 500 approaches record high on U.S.-China trade progress
By April Joyner NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 rose on Friday, briefly surpassing its record closing high, after Washington said it was close to finalizing parts of a trade pact with Beijing. The benchmark index hit a session high of 3,027.39, reaching above its closing record of 3,025.86 on July 26. It came within a point of overtaking its all-time high of 3,027.98 set during the July 26 session.
By April Joyner
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 rose on Friday, briefly surpassing its record closing high, after Washington said it was close to finalizing parts of a trade pact with Beijing.
The benchmark index <.SPX> hit a session high of 3,027.39, reaching above its closing record of 3,025.86 on July 26. It came within a point of overtaking its all-time high of 3,027.98 set during the July 26 session.
U.S. stocks added to marginal gains early in the session after the U.S. Trade Representative's office said that deputy-level trade talks would continue. President Donald Trump also struck a hopeful tone, saying that China wanted "to make a deal very badly."
The developments rounded off a strong week for equity markets, which were boosted by a clutch of better-than-expected third-quarter earnings reports. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were both set for their biggest weekly percentage gain in seven weeks.
Intel Corp's
The gain in Intel shares helped propel the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index <.SOX> to a record high.
Trade optimism and Intel's gains outweighed losses in shares of Amazon.com Inc
"The market reaction to Amazon wasn't as bad as people thought, which created a positive atmosphere," said Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich, Connecticut. "Then the trade headlines - I think the market liked that as well."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 149.4 points, or 0.56%, to 26,954.93, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 10.93 points, or 0.36%, to 3,021.22 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 46.16 points, or 0.56%, to 8,231.96.
Boeing Co
Shares of VF Corp
Charter Communications Inc
The next round of earnings due next week includes Apple Inc
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.43-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.74-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 40 new 52-week highs and three new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 80 new highs and 55 new lows.
(Reporting by April Joyner; Additional reporting by Arjun Panchadar and Ambhini Aishwarya in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Nick Zieminski)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
also read
France, Germany to agree to NATO role against Islamic State - sources | Reuters
By Robin Emmott and John Irish | BRUSSELS/PARIS BRUSSELS/PARIS France and Germany will agree to a U.S. plan for NATO to take a bigger role in the fight against Islamic militants at a meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday, but insist the move is purely symbolic, four senior European diplomats said.The decision to allow the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to join the coalition against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq follows weeks of pressure on the two allies, who are wary of NATO confronting Russia in Syria and of alienating Arab countries who see NATO as pushing a pro-Western agenda."NATO as an institution will join the coalition," said one senior diplomat involved in the discussions. "The question is whether this just a symbolic gesture to the United States
China's Xi says navy should become world class | Reuters
BEIJING Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for greater efforts to make the country's navy a world class one, strong in operations on, below and above the surface, as it steps up its ability to project power far from its shores.China's navy has taken an increasingly prominent role in recent months, with a rising star admiral taking command, its first aircraft carrier sailing around self-ruled Taiwan and a new aircraft carrier launched last month.With President Donald Trump promising a US shipbuilding spree and unnerving Beijing with his unpredictable approach on hot button issues including Taiwan and the South and East China Seas, China is pushing to narrow the gap with the U.S. Navy.Inspecting navy headquarters, Xi said the navy should "aim for the top ranks in the world", the Defence Ministry said in a statement about his visit."Building a strong and modern navy is an important mark of a top ranking global military," the ministry paraphrased Xi as saying.