US stocks closed higher on Thursday, the first trading day after a volatile October had indices swinging wildly on a day-to-day basis.
The benchmarks were given a boost after US President Donald Trump said he had a "long and very good conversation" with China about trade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped almost 259 points or by 1.03% to end at 25,374.
The Nasdaq jumped nearly 128 points or by 1.75% to settle at 7,434.
The S&P 500 was up 1.05% to end at 2,740.
The Russell 2000 small cap index gained 2.2% to conclude at 1,544.
In Canada, the TSX increased 0.69% to trade around 15,130.
12:16 PM: US stocks on the rise this afternoon as trade talks with China progress
The US benchmarks were on the rise this afternoon after US President Donald Trump said he had a "long and very good conversation" with China about trade.
Just had a long and very good conversation with President Xi Jinping of China. We talked about many subjects, with a heavy emphasis on Trade. Those discussions are moving along nicely with meetings being scheduled at the G-20 in Argentina. Also had good discussion on North Korea!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2018
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped about 200 points with DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP) taking the spot of top gainer.
CEO Ed Breen said that demand for the company’s automotive and industrial products drove sales higher in the quarter during an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Bellwether Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC), United Technologies Inc (NYSE:UTX) and The Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) were also top gainers on the index.
The S&P 500 was up more than 16 points by midday.
Newfield Exploration Company (NYSE:NFX) was one of the top-performing stocks on the index after Encana Corporation (NYSE:ECA) agreed to buy the energy company in a stock swap.
The Nasdaq jumped nearly 80 points in afternoon trading.
Casino operator Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) was a top gainer after casinos in Macau, China posted the highest monthly revenues since 2014. Revenue totaled the equivalent of $3.38 billion for the month of October.
The Russell 2000 was up about 1.6% this afternoon with semiconductor company FormFactor Inc (NASDAQ:FORM) leading the charge after better-than-expected third-quarter revenue results.
Up north, the TSX was up more than 100 points due to an increase in gold prices and a strong performance from precious metal miners.
10:00 AM: US stocks open on a positive course as investors await Apple's earnings
US stocks pushed higher on Thursday as a clutch of robust earnings results buoyed the markets in the morning session.
Today marks the third day of a rally as investors attempt to rebound from October’s brutal market performance.
Early in the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index climbed 126 points to 25,239, lifted by its best performer DowDuPont (NYSE:DWDP), which added 6.5% after the industrial conglomerate zipped past the Street’s third-quarter estimates and unveiled a new $3 billion stock buyback program.
Shares of the health insurer Cigna (NYSE:CI) were also up 3% in the wake of posting better-than-expected quarterly results and lifting its full-year revenue and profit targets.
The tech-laden Nasdaq also added 5 points to 7,311, pushed up by Vodafone, Celgene, NetEase, Western Digital Corp, Maxim Integrated Products and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
Shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which is set to report on its quarterly performance after the bell, were trading slightly lower at $218.12.
The S&P 500 also rose slightly to pick up 6 points and hit 2,717 while the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks popped by 8 points to reach 1,519.
Up in Canada, Toronto’s TSX climbed 42 points to hit 15,069, driven higher by gains in mining shares.
In other news, the price of a barrel of Brent Crude Oil, the key international benchmark, continued to fall, dropping to $74.53. The price of gold, meanwhile, was up almost 1% at $1,226.20 per ounce.
7:11 AM: US stock futures point to higher open as investors await more earnings, including Apple
US stock futures are set for a for a higher open as the new month begins and as traders await a clutch of earnings, including big tech numbers following a higher close on Wall Street last night.
In Europe, major indices are also higher Thursday with the FTSE 100 in London up nearly 16 points at 7,144 at the time of writing.
Some investors believe that October’s sell-off has been overblown, given that key indicators are still pointing to a strong underlying economy. But there's no doubt, October was a rough ride for U.S. stocks.
-Decision day the BOE
-Wall Street backing Democrats
-Apple earnings
-Markets rise
-Coming up...https://t.co/EvVFDC8LPb pic.twitter.com/1FxWMMMQ32
— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) 1 November 2018
The broad based S&P 500 lost $1.91 trillion in the month, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices analysts.
Indeed, October was the worst month for the S&P 500 since September 2011.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed out 241 points higher at 25,155, while the Nasdaq added 144 points and the S&P 500 added over 29 points.
In futures Thursday, the Dow Jones is ahead by 140 points; the S&P 500 added around 14 and the Nasdaq is up around 34 points.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will report after the bell tonight amid fears on flattening iPhone sales, while Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is in the frame as employees around the world are walking out in protest at how the firm deals with sexual harassment.
In Asia overnight, the Nikkei 225 shed over 232 points, while the Shahghai Composite index added 3.45 points.
In Toronto, the TSX - the largest market there - closed up nearly 133 points at 15,027.