US close: Wall Street sets new records on Powell, autos, airlines
US stocks continued their strong start to the month, setting yet another record close after comments from a Fed governor and a boost for auto manufacturers from strong sales data.
All main Wall Street indices were higher, with the Dow Jones adding 84 points or 0.37% to close at 22,641.67, while the S&P 500 finished almost 5.5 points higher at 2,534.58, and the Nasdaq was up 15 points to 6,531.71.
Federal Reserve governor Jerome Powell, one of those recently interviewed by Donald Trump to potentially replace Janet Yellen as chair of the US central bank, made a strong bid to get into the President's good books as he gave a speech about reducing the regulatory burden and said increasing the country's rate of growth was his top priority.
Speaking in Washington ahead of a Q&A session organised by Reuters, Powell said he was confident regulators could reach an agreement to move to a "significantly less burdensome" version of the Volcker Rule, which was put in place in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
Later, when asked what keeps him awake at night, he said: “The biggest challenge we face as a country is to do what we can to sustain the sustainable growth rate of the U.S. economy—just another percentage point over time would make dramatic differences in lives over time, in dramatic differences in political dialogue and so many dimensions,” Powell said in response to.
“I think we need to be doing those things that support higher growth — stronger workforce, higher productivity, balanced regulation.”
General Motors and Ford stock stepped up a gear after strong vehicle sales data than was expected, thought to be helped by consumers replacing damaged cars after hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
There were 1.52m vehicles sold in September, a 6.1% increase compared with a year earlier, Autodata said.
The three largest manufacturers, General Motors, Ford and Toyota, enjoyed strong months with sales gaining 11.8%,14.9% and 8.9%, respectively, as pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles remained strong but passenger car sales continued to struggle.
Airline stocks were stronger after Delta Air Lines predicted a 2% revenue improvement for the third quarter. With analysts saying the forecast eased worries about the profit hit from canceled flights due to the storms, there was also a lift given to rivals American Airlines and United Continental.
Ford Motor Company announced plans to cut $10bn of costs, reduce investment in non-electric cars, and reallocate cash towards SUVs and trucks rather than cars.
Dow Jones - Risers
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.85 0.99%
American Express Co. (AXP) $91.43 0.98%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $79.22 0.98%
General Electric Co. (GE) $24.80 0.94%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $100.79 0.93%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $39.38 0.87%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.20 0.87%
3M Co. (MMM) $214.58 0.85%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $165.17 0.70%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $132.10 0.67%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $51.47 -0.77%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $74.26 -0.47%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $64.38 -0.28%
Boeing Co. (BA) $255.35 -0.21%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $156.86 -0.06%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $83.93 -0.00%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $146.78 0.08%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $117.68 0.11%
Visa Inc. (V) $105.59 0.14%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $81.76 0.16%
S&P 500 - Risers
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $51.25 6.62%
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) $64.14 6.14%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $50.51 5.82%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $55.48 4.79%
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $58.51 4.50%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $20.18 4.45%
Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW) $374.37 4.16%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $61.99 3.64%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $12.60 3.53%
Kroger Co. (KR) $20.56 3.01%
S&P 500 - Fallers
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $117.82 -4.77%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $23.85 -4.48%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $8.71 -4.18%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $23.11 -3.67%
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $37.59 -3.29%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $50.02 -2.42%
Csra Inc. (CSRA) $31.97 -2.17%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $49.24 -2.13%
Coach Inc. (COH) $39.83 -2.07%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $20.00 -2.06%