US stocks notched their fourth-straight winning session Friday as investors applauded the progress made in trade talks between the US and China.
Beijing has pledged to purchase more US goods for six years in a bid to resolve the two countries’ bitter trade dispute, according to published reports. This news come on the heels of yesterday’s report that Steve Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary said Washington is weighing the scrapping of a portion or all tariffs on Chinese imports.
By the bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 336 points higher to end at 24,706, helped by gains from Home Depot Inc, UnitedHealth Group Inc, the trade bellwether Caterpillar and 3M.
The S&P 500 came out of correction territory and added 1.32% to reach 2,670 while the tech-laden Nasdaq climbed 1% to finish at 7,157.
In other news, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) shed 4% to $339.10 after the company missed Wall Street’s projections for revenue in its latest quarter, but beat on earnings.
Shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB), meanwhile, popped by 8% to $44.73 after reporting higher-than-expected fourth quarter revenue and announcing a $0.50 dividend.
Elsewhere, the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks also advanced to pick up 0.92% and close around 1,480.
And up in Canada, Toronto’s TSX finished its 11th consecutive winning session, adding 0.6% to 15,303 as rising oil prices pushed up shares of energy stocks.
1:30 PM: Dow pops by over 300 points after China pledges to go on buying spree of US goods
Energy and industrial stocks pushed Wall Street even higher in afternoon trading on Friday as investors welcomed news of significant advances in trade negotiations between the US and China.
The surge in optimism over a possible trade pact offset concerns about the length of the government shutdown as well as the uneven earnings season.
As Proactive went to press, the Dow Jones index had climbed 290 points to 24,660 while the S&P 500 picked up 32 points to hover at 2,667.
The two best-performing sectors were energy and industrials, with the S&P 500 energy sector climbing 1.7% as industrials gained 1.93%.
The tech-laden Nasdaq rose 75 points to 7,159 while the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks jumped by 1% to 1,482.
Up in Canada, Toronto’s TSX was on the road to its 11th consecutive winning session, adding 81 points to reach 15,292.
10:00 AM: Dow rises on growing optimism over US-China trade talks
US stocks gathered steam Friday, as Wall Street hung on to optimism over a report that Washington might ease tariffs on Chinese goods.
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported that U.S. officials were debating a possible ease in tariffs on Chinese imports, to give Beijing incentive to make deeper concessions over the trade dispute. However, a Treasury spokesman downplayed the report saying any bargaining positions remained "at the discussion stage." Still a good deal of optimism prevailed in the makets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 156 points, or 0.6%, to 24,523 led by gains in Chevron and Boeing.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.5%, trading out of correction territory, as the energy, tech and industrials sectors outperformed.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6%.
7.15 am: Dow Jones Industrial Average poised for triple digit gain at open as traders are optimistic on US/China trade relations
US shares are seen extending gains made yesterday, while European benchmarks are also higher, as investors cling to hopes of improved relations between the USA and China.
A report in the Wall Street Journal stated reportedly that President Trump was debating whether to lift tariffs to soothe markets and encourage Beijing to make concessions on trade.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a triple-digit gain to close over 162 points higher at 24,370. The S&P 500 finished nearly 20 points up at 2,635.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq index added nearly 50 points to 7,084.
Up in Toronto, the TSX- the largest market there - gained almost 100 points at 15,211.
Meanwhile, in New York futures trade Friday, the Dow Jones is up 146 points, while the Nasdaq is up 28.5. The S&P 500 futures are ahead by 11.25 points.
Turning to Europe, FTSE 100 in London is up almost 95 points at 6,930, while the German DAX is ahead by 158 points and the French CAC 40 added 76 points at 4,871.
In US corporate activity, traders today will be mulling over the Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) results last night, which showed the tech titan had added nearly 9 million new paying subscribers during the final three months of last year - smashing its own expectations of 7.6 million. Despite that, the stock is down 2.15% in pre-market deals.