US close: Markets finish higher as investors shrug off trade concerns
US stocks finished firmer on Thursday after Wall Street added to the gains seen in the previous session, as investors shook off concerns about a trade war between the US and China.
Dow Jones I.A.
37,986.40
04:30 15/10/20
Nasdaq 100
17,037.65
12:15 19/04/24
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.99% at 24,505.22, the S&P 500 added 0.69% to 2,662.84, and the Nasdaq 100 was 0.53% above the waterline at 6,594.84.
Shares had ended higher on Wednesday despite worries about a trade war between the US and China erupting, following reports that President Trump might be a little flexible on one point of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Analysts were also quick to point out that the measures announced by both the US and China were not a done deal, meaning there was room for negotiation between the two counties.
“Now that China has hit back with proposals of sizeable tariffs on US imports, room to renegotiate a new trade relationship has opened up before the levies will actually be implemented,” said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets.
“Beijing has indicated it is open to softening its stance, and this has boosted investor sentiment. Dealers love snapping up relatively cheap stocks, and now the mood is optimistic, they are wasting no time.”
Also helping to underpin the risk-on tone in markets were conciliatory comments from a number of senior US officials.
National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow suggested on Wednesday that it was possible the tariffs on China might not ever actually come into place, insisting that for now, they were just proposals.
Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that "even shooting wars end with negotiations".
On the data front, initial US jobless claims increased by 24,000 to 242,000 in the week ended 31 March, beating forecasts for a reading of 225,000, but were still relatively low when compared to recent years, reflecting the best labour market in decades.
The US trade deficit rose 1.6% in February and remained at 10-year high, yet again highlighting the Trump administration's near impossible task of drastically reducing the gap, something the president had campaigned on quite heavily.
Traders were still looking towards the main highlight of the week on Friday, with the release of the monthly US non-farm payrolls report.
Morgan Stanley's forecast called for the US labour market to have generated 180,000 new jobs in March and for the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.1%.
The broker was also expecting to see a 0.2% monthly increase in average hourly earnings, raising the year-over-year rate to 2.7% from 2.6%.
In corporate news, J M Smucker finished up 0.16% after saying late on Wednesday that it will pay nearly $2bn for pet food company Ainsworth Pet Nutrition.
Conatus Pharmaceuticals shares plunged 31.45% after its announcement regarding a failed drug study, while shares of Sonoma Pharmaceuticals gained 14.60% after the Food and Drug Administration approved its antimicrobial skin gel.
Dow Jones - Risers
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $65.44 3.35%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $179.13 3.09%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $154.03 2.79%
Boeing Co. (BA) $336.40 2.75%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $102.11 2.71%
General Electric Co. (GE) $13.43 2.28%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $117.29 2.14%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $148.13 2.12%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $255.81 2.09%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $69.59 1.72%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.73 -1.11%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $78.80 -0.32%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $54.53 -0.02%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $125.74 0.01%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $92.38 0.05%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $229.07 0.12%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $130.67 0.16%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $44.40 0.34%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $139.29 0.49%
3M Co. (MMM) $218.62 0.53%
S&P 500 - Risers
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $46.56 8.58%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $16.07 7.13%
Navient Corporation (NAVI) $13.66 6.39%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $16.80 5.66%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $3.08 5.48%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $14.52 5.37%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $17.36 5.15%
Alcoa Corporation (AA) $47.61 4.98%
Andeavor (ANDV) $107.74 4.91%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $19.22 4.68%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $49.84 -6.65%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $195.02 -3.30%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $157.66 -2.75%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $264.98 -2.72%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $328.59 -2.60%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $17.47 -2.40%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $54.29 -2.29%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $221.38 -2.15%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $90.53 -2.14%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $109.31 -1.97%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $305.72 6.54%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $1,451.75 2.92%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $76.95 2.90%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $159.34 2.73%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $255.35 2.58%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $32.23 2.06%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $40.19 1.90%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $156.43 1.90%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $31.25 1.89%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $39.46 1.75%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $49.84 -6.65%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $195.02 -3.30%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $157.66 -2.75%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $264.98 -2.72%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $328.59 -2.60%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $54.29 -2.29%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $57.86 -2.26%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $221.38 -2.15%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $90.53 -2.14%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $109.31 -1.97%