US close: Another green close for the Street
Wall Street trading finished on a positive note on Wednesday, with investors digesting the latest GDP release.
Dow Jones I.A.
37,775.38
04:30 15/10/20
Nasdaq 100
17,394.31
12:15 18/04/24
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session up 0.23% at 26,124.57, the S&P 500 added 0.57% to 2,914.04, and the Nasdaq 100 was 1.19% higher at 7,660.18.
Stocks rallied to fresh highs on Monday on the back of news that the US had agreed to a preliminary trade deal with Mexico, and although Tuesday's gains were only marginal, they still left the S&P and Nasdaq close to record highs.
“With NAFTA negotiations finally making progress, there is a sense of relief that the risk of a global trade war is easing, which has been supportive for sentiment recently,” said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.
“There is still a long way to go with Trump recently again threatening tariffs on cars from Europe and the US preparing another $200bn of tariffs against China but any progress is welcome and it’s hopefully something we’ll see more of in the months ahead."
Erlam noted that the Canadian dollar has gained ground in recent days on reports that it is rejoining talks and offering concessions that could result in an agreement by the end of the week.
"Trump had previously threatened to proceed with a US-Mexico trade agreement as a replacement for NAFTA, in effect cutting Canada out, which could have had a significant impact on the Canadian economy.
“While this was more than likely a bluff aimed at forcing the hand of the Canadians, it is a relief that no such move will likely be necessarily as it would have been harmful for all concerned.”
On the data front, the US economy grew slightly more quickly than forecast over the three months to June, following upwards revisions to estimates for business investment and private inventories.
According to the Department of Commerce, America's gross domestic product accelerated to a quarterly annualised clip of 4.2% to reach $18.514trn, which was up from the 4.1% pace observed over the first three months of 2018.
A preliminary reading on import demand was also marked down, further boosting the estimated rate of GDP growth.
Economists had been anticipating a slight downwards revision in the rate of GDP growth to 4.0%.
Elsewhere, fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes last month, with real estate sales continuing to slip despite solid economic growth.
The National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index fell 0.7% last month to 106.2.
Over the last 12 months, contract signings have tumbled 2.3% as home values climbed at roughly double the rate of average wage growth across the US.
In corporate news, Hewlett-Packard was up 2.41% after its third-quarter earnings late on Tuesday topped expectations.
Software company Box slumped 10.97% despite better-than-expected quarterly earnings, as its guidance fell short of analysts' estimates.
Elsewhere, Salesforce was up 1.18% ahead of its earnings later in the day, while cannabis producer Tilray was 20.64% higher in after it said in its first earnings release since its IPO in July that second-quarter sales nearly doubled.
Dow Jones - Risers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $112.02 1.60%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $222.98 1.49%
Visa Inc. (V) $147.04 1.26%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $47.48 1.13%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $71.44 0.99%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $163.12 0.91%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $80.86 0.72%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $147.54 0.65%
3M Co. (MMM) $210.50 0.49%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $134.86 0.40%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $68.66 -0.89%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $133.62 -0.65%
American Express Co. (AXP) $106.71 -0.53%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $95.65 -0.45%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $241.40 -0.40%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $115.76 -0.33%
Boeing Co. (BA) $350.19 -0.29%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $54.57 -0.15%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $201.68 -0.14%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $112.45 -0.12%
S&P 500 - Risers
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $21.77 5.17%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $406.62 4.25%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $12.20 3.48%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $1,998.10 3.38%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $123.96 3.16%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $18.00 2.80%
PG&E Corp. (PCG) $46.90 2.69%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $16.57 2.66%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $68.11 2.61%
Red Hat Inc. (RHT) $147.80 2.59%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Tiffany & Co. (TIF) $125.48 -4.26%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $17.94 -2.23%
Borg Warner Inc. (BWA) $45.20 -2.14%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $63.39 -1.98%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $77.34 -1.94%
Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI) $7.80 -1.39%
Kroger Co. (KR) $30.68 -1.38%
AT&T Inc. (T) $32.23 -1.35%
Johnson Controls International plc (JCI) $38.43 -1.31%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $487.65 -1.30%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $406.62 4.25%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $1,998.10 3.38%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $92.62 2.22%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $184.86 2.21%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $122.81 2.09%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $268.36 2.02%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $94.14 1.85%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $126.95 1.82%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $136.09 1.82%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $146.35 1.75%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $305.01 -2.20%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $20.25 -1.98%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $63.39 -1.98%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $100.82 -1.01%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $209.46 -1.00%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $51.83 -0.97%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $68.66 -0.89%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $172.62 -0.87%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $55.98 -0.85%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $69.20 -0.83%