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The Dow just staged a nearly 900-point turnaround in frenetic Thursday action

US stocks stage furious late-day rally to close with gains, erasing 600-point drop in Dow Jones Industrial Average

Wall Street staged a swift, last-minute turnaround Thursday that rescued stocks from a steep dive and put the market on track to end a topsy-turvy, volatile week with a gain.



https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ks-rally-asia-mixed-after-wall-street-rebound

US Stocks Stage Big Rally, Erase 600 Point Drop in Dow
Wall Street staged a swift, last-minute turnaround Thursday that rescued stocks from a steep dive and put the market on track to end a topsy-turvy, volatile week with a gain.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Wall Street staged a swift, last-minute turnaround Thursday that rescued stocks from a steep dive and put the market on track to end a topsy-turvy, volatile week with a gain.

The comeback reversed a 611 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq eked out modest gains after having been down 2.8 and 3.3 percent, respectively.

Thursday's sharp swing in stocks followed their best day in 10 years. Even so, the market remains headed for what could be its steepest annual loss since the financial crisis.

The market's sharp downturn that began in October has intensified this month, erasing all of its 2018 gains and nudging the S&P 500 closer to its worst year since 2008. Even with the two-day winning streak, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are all down more than 9 percent for the month and stocks are on track for their worst December since 1931.

"There are reasons we should be volatile, including a lot of unknowns as we head into 2019, starting with tariffs," said JJ Kinahan, chief markets strategist for TD Ameritrade, noting that below-average trading volume this time of year is also contributing to the market's volatility this week.

Prior to the two-day rally, the S&P 500 had fallen in 11 of 16 trading sessions in December, with five of the declines by 2 percent or more. Investors had grown worried that the testy U.S.-China trade dispute and higher interest rates would slow the economy, hurting corporate profits.

"The last two days are really demonstrable of what the market is struggling with," said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager of Globalt Investments. "It's looking for a bottom. It's looking for a reason to gain a little more confidence. And it's also looking for opportunities to reposition and lessen risk."

Health care and technology companies, banks and industrial stocks accounted for much of the broad gains.

The S&P 500 index rose 21.13 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,488.83. Earlier, it had been down more than 69 points. The Dow gained 260.37 points, or 1.1 percent, to 23,138.82. Both indexes rose about 5 percent Wednesday, when the Dow had its biggest-ever single-day point gain.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 25.14 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,579.49. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 2.01 points, or 0.2 percent, 1,331.82.

Bonds prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 2.78 percent from 2.79 percent late Wednesday, although the yield dropped as low as 2.73 percent when stocks were near their lowest levels as investors sought safer investments.

Benchmark U.S. crude dropped 3.5 percent to settle at $44.61 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 4.2 percent to $52.16 a barrel in London.

The dollar fell to 110.74 yen from 111.36 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1449 from $1.1351.

Gold edged up 0.6 percent to $1,281.10 an ounce and silver gained 1.2 percent to $15.31 an ounce. Copper fell 1.2 percent to $2.67 a pound.

Overseas, major indexes in Europe closed lower while markets in Asia mostly rose. The German DAX slid 2.4 percent, while the Nikkei 225 index rebounded 3.9 percent.



 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose more than 2 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq added nearly 4 percent. The indexes are still all down around 10 percent for the month and on track for their worst December since 1931.



https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...her-asian-stocks-gain-after-wall-street-rally

Wall Street Faces Annual Losses Despite Solid Gains for Week
Wall Street capped a week of volatile trading Friday with an uneven finish and the market's first weekly gain since November.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Wall Street capped a week of volatile trading Friday with an uneven finish and the market's first weekly gain since November.

Losses in technology, energy and industrial stocks outweighed gains in retailers and other consumer-focused companies. Stocks spent much of the day wavering between small gains and losses, ultimately unable to maintain the momentum from a two-day winning streak.

Even so, the major stock indexes closed with their first weekly gain in what's been an otherwise painful last month of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose more than 2 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq added nearly 4 percent. The indexes are still all down around 10 percent for the month and on track for their worst December since 1931.

"It seems like convulsions in either direction have been the real norm for much of December and that's certainly been the case this week," said Eric Wiegand senior portfolio manager for Private Wealth Management at U.S. Bank. "The initial push higher and then seeing it subside a little bit is perhaps getting back to a little bit more of a normal environment, reflecting the reality that we have still a number of issues overhanging the market."

The market's sharp downturn since October has intensified this month, erasing all its 2018 gains and nudging the S&P 500 closer to its worst year since 2008.

Investors have grown worried that the testy U.S.-China trade dispute and higher interest rates would slow the economy, hurting corporate profits. This week, with trading volumes lower than usual because of the Christmas holiday, served up some pronounced swings in the market.

A steep sell-off during the shortened trading session on Christmas Eve left the major indexes down more than 2 percent. On Wednesday, stocks mounted a stunning rebound, posting the market's best day in 10 years as the Dow shot up more than 1,000 points for its biggest single-day point gain ever.

The market appeared ready to give much of those gains back on Thursday, before a late-afternoon reversal that erased a 600-point drop in the Dow left the market with a two-day winning streak.

"The market was so oversold and then Wednesday and Thursday were key reversal days, but also stronger closes than opens," said Janet Johnston, portfolio manager at TrimTabs Asset Management.

"The market was starting to price in the worst-case scenario: a recession," Johnston said

Still, the market's downturn has left stocks substantially less expensive than they were heading into the fourth quarter, Johnston noted.

"And that sets up a good buying opportunity," she said.

On Friday, the S&P 500 index fell 3.09 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,485.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 76.42 points, or 0.3 percent, to 23,062.40. The average had briefly climbed to 243 points.

The Nasdaq added 5.03 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,584.52. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed 6.11 points, or 0.5 percent, 1,337.92.

Technology companies, a big driver of the market's gains before things deteriorated in October, were among the big decliners. Alliance Data Systems dropped 1.4 percent to $149.82.

Oil prices recovered after wavering in midmorning trading. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.6 percent to settle at $45.33 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, inched up 0.1 percent to close at $52.20 a barrel in London.

Despite the rise in oil prices, energy sector stocks declined. Cabot Oil & Gas slid 3.5 percent to $22.95, while Hess lost 2.8 percent to $40.38.

Retailers and other consumer-focused companies fared better. Amazon rose 1.1 percent to $1,478.02.

Wells Fargo rose 0.5 percent to $45.78 on news that the lender has agreed to pay $575 million in a national settlement with state attorneys general over its fake bank accounts scandal. The San Francisco-based bank has acknowledged that its employees opened millions of unauthorized bank accounts for customers in order to meet unrealistic sales goals.

Tesla climbed 5.6 percent to $333.87 after naming two independent directors to its board under an agreement with federal regulators.

Homebuilders fell broadly in the morning after the National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index fell last month as fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes. Higher mortgage rates and prices are squeezing would-be buyers out of the market, especially in the West. The stocks mostly recovered by mid-afternoon. William Lyon Homes gained 3.4 percent to $10.81.

Bonds prices recovered after midday dip, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury down to 2.72 percent from 2.74 percent late Thursday.

The dollar declined to 110.41 yen from Thursday's 110.74 yen. The euro weakened to $1.1442 from $1.1449.

Gold edged up 0.1 percent to $1,283 an ounce and silver gained 0.8 percent to $15.44 an ounce. Copper rose 0.5 percent to $2.68 a pound.

Overseas, major indexes in Europe closed higher while markets in Asia mostly rose. London's FTSE 100 gained 2.3 percent, while the Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3 percent.

9748
 
US stocks suffer worst year since 2008 financial crisis; S&P 500 sees 6.2 percent annual drop, Dow falls 5.6 percent



https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...-mostly-higher-in-quiet-new-years-eve-trading

US Stocks End Dismal, Volatile Year on a Bright Note
Wall Street closed out a dismal, turbulent year for stocks on a bright note Monday, but still finished 2018 with the worst showing in a decade.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Wall Street closed out a dismal, turbulent year for stocks on a bright note Monday, but still finished 2018 with the worst showing in a decade.

After setting a series of records through the late summer and early fall, major U.S. indexes fell sharply after early October, leaving them all in the red for the year.

The S&P 500 index, the market's main benchmark, finished the year with a loss of 6.2 percent. The last time the index fell for the year was in 2008 during the financial crisis. The S&P 500 also posted tiny losses in 2011 and 2015, but eked out small gains in both years once dividends were included.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 5.6 percent. The Nasdaq composite sank 12.2 percent.

Major indexes in Europe also ended 2018 in the red. The CAC 40 of France finished the year down 11 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 12.5 percent. Germany's DAX ended the year in a bear market, down 22 percent from a high in January and 18 percent from the start of the year.

"This has really been a challenging year for investors," said Jeff Kravetz, regional investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "This was really the year that market volatility returned with a vengeance."

Wall Street started 2018 strong, buoyed by a growing economy and corporate profits. Stocks climbed to new highs early, shook off a sudden, steep drop by spring and rode a wave of tax cut-juiced corporate earnings growth to another all-time high by September. Then the jitters set in.

Investors grew worried that the testy U.S.-China trade dispute and higher interest rates would slow the economy, hurting corporate profits. A slowing U.S. housing market and forecasts of weaker global growth in 2019 stoked traders' unease.

In October the market's gyrations grew more volatile.

The autumn sell-off knocked the benchmark S&P 500 index into a correction, or a drop of 10 percent from its all-time high, for the second time in nine months. A Christmas Eve plunge brought it briefly into bear market territory, or a drop of 20 percent from its peak, before closing just short of the threshold that would have meant the end of the market's nearly 10-year bull market run.

"For markets to move higher next year, we're going to have to resolve those issues," Kravetz said.

On Monday, the S&P 500 index rose 21.11 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,506.85. The Dow gained 265.06 points, or 1.2 percent, to 23,327.46. The Nasdaq added 50.76 points, or 0.8 percent, to 6,635.28. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 10.64 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,348.56.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.68 percent from 2.73 percent late Friday. The yield started off the year at 2.41 percent.

Health care stocks paved the way for Monday's modest gains. The sector ended the year with a 4.7 percent increase, to lead all other sectors in the S&P 500. Utilities were the only other sector to eke out an annual gain, adding 0.5 percent.

Technology companies, a big driver of the market's gains before things deteriorated in October, ended the year with a 1.6 percent loss. Three of the five so-called "FAANG" stocks — Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet — ended 2018 lower. Amazon rose 28.4 percent, while Netflix jumped 39.4 percent.

Energy companies fared the worst, plunging 20.5 percent for the year, as the price of U.S. crude oil tumbled around 40 percent from a four-year peak of $76 a barrel in October.

On Monday, benchmark U.S. crude oil inched up 0.2 percent to settle at $45.41 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for international prices, gained 1.1 percent to $53.80 a barrel in London.

Trading will be closed Tuesday for New Year's Day.

Investors drew encouragement from a tweet from President Donald Trump on Sunday, in which the president said he had a "long and very good call" with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump added: "Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute. Big progress being made."

Meanwhile, the official Xinhua News Agency cited a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying that "China stands ready to work with the United States to move forward the China-U.S. ties which are underpinned by coordination, cooperation and stability."

Stocks also got a boost in early December when the U.S. and China agreed to a truce on trade, but then plunged when it was unclear what exactly both sides had agreed upon.

In other trading Monday, the dollar fell to 109.61 yen from 110.41 yen on Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1445 from $1.1442.

Gold slipped 0.1 percent to $1,281.30 an ounce and silver gained 0.7 percent to $15.54 an ounce. Copper lost 1.9 percent to $2.63 a pound.

In other energy futures trading, wholesale gasoline slipped 0.2 percent to $1.32 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1 percent to $1.68 a gallon. Natural gas plunged 11 percent to $2.94 per 1,000 cubic feet.


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trade-war-big-profits-wild-220036428.html

US stocks suffer worst year since 2008 financial crisis; S&P 500 sees 6.2 percent annual drop, Dow falls 5.6 percent

Wall Street started 2018 strong, buoyed by a growing economy and corporate profits. It didn't end that way.

U.S. stocks climbed to new highs in January, shook off a sudden, steep drop by spring and rode a wave of tax cut-juiced corporate earnings growth to another all-time high by September. Then the jitters set in.

Investors grew worried that the testy U.S.-China trade dispute and higher interest rates would slow the economy, hurting corporate profits. A slowing U.S. housing market and forecasts of weaker global growth in 2019 stoked traders' unease.

In October the market entered a volatile skid as traders sold technology companies and other growth sectors in favor of less-risky assets, such as government bonds.

The autumn sell-off knocked the benchmark S&P 500 index into a correction, or a drop of 10 percent from its all-time high. The index ended with its worst annual performance in a decade, losing 6.2 percent.

VIVA VOLATILITY

The stock market's gyrations grew more volatile in 2018 as investors faced uncertainty over trade and rising interest rates. The benchmark S&P 500 index slid into a "correction," or a drop of 10 percent from its high, twice this year. Bond yields surged as investors sought less risky investments, though gold weakened after rallying early in the year.

EVERYTHING STRUGGLED

"Diversify" is one of the bedrock tenets of investing, and it's supposed to shine brightest when markets are turbulent. The hope is that if U.S. stocks are struggling, markets in other areas of the world will be doing better. Or bonds. Or gold. This year, though, nearly everything has been a loser.

ECONOMIC HEADWINDS

The pace of global economic growth will slow next year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said recently. Trade growth and investment have been slackening on the back of tariff hikes, the Paris-based economic think tank says. It warns world economic activity could be weaker in the years ahead if the U.S. and China impose further penalties on each other's goods.

TRADE TREMORS

President Donald Trump said early this year that trade wars are good and "easy to win," but worries about the effect of tariffs on international trade — and corporate profits — have weighed on stocks. Boeing's stock became a proxy of sorts for investors as worries about trade waxed and waned. Boeing got more than half its revenue from abroad in the last year, including about 12 percent from China, according to FactSet.

PROFIT POWER

Corporate America's earnings growth surged in 2018, driven by lower tax bills and a growing economy. The strong results helped to briefly spur the stock market to new highs. More recently, investors have grown concerned that 2018 may be the peak for corporate profit growth, especially given recent signs that the global economy is slowing. That's one reason analysts are forecasting more modest earnings growth next year.

DO YOU SUBSCRIBE?

Facebook and Alphabet, Google's parent company, were longtime market favorites until mid-2018. Facebook faced controversies related to user privacy and concerns its services enabled election meddling and contributed to violence overseas. Analysts projected a slowdown in user growth. Investors also began to wonder if Facebook, Google, Snap and other tech companies will face new regulations. Twitter fared better after several rough years

OIL SLICK

Falling oil prices used to be welcome news in the U.S., but that was before the oil boom of the last decade. A drop in oil can still mean lower gas prices for drivers. But this year's 40 percent plunge from a four-year peak of about $76 a barrel in October is unequivocally bad news for the oil companies that have helped domestic production roughly double over the past seven years.

NOT HOME

The U.S. housing market stalled in 2018 as years of prices climbing faster than incomes coupled with a steady rise in mortgage rates took their toll. The higher borrowing costs and prices have put homeownership out of reach for many would-be buyers. Sales of existing homes posted their biggest annual drop in four years in October. Economists are forecasting further weakness in housing next year and higher mortgage rates.

BIG AND SMALL

Smaller stocks surged this spring as trade tensions dominated the headlines. Investors believed those companies, which do less business overseas compared to larger companies, would feel less pain during a prolonged trade dispute. But smaller companies are also weaker financially and are more likely to struggle when the U.S. economy slows, and Wall Street grew very worried about that possibility later in the year. That caused huge losses.

HIGH, AND LOW, TIMES

A majority of U.S. states have legalized marijuana to varying degrees, and companies are scrambling to get in on the action. Both the NYSE and Nasdaq saw their first purely cannabis companies list shares in 2018. But stocks in the companies that produce and sell marijuana have largely underperformed the overall market this year.
 

Dow Jones Industrial Average
31/12/2018 DJIA - 23,327.46 +265.06 (1.15%)

PREVIOUS CLOSE
23,062.40

Skate.
 


Trading will be closed Tuesday for New Year's Day in most parts of the world

Thanks Skate;
I missed the DOW line once before now included above
 
Updated Index table with all (previous table excluded Dow 30)

 
NYSE FUTURES ARE A CONCERN AT 5:40 am NY time





https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...stocks-skid-after-weak-china-factory-readings
Global Stocks Skid After Weak China Factory Readings
Asian stock markets fall as 2019 trading begins after Chinese manufacturing weakens.

By JOE McDONALD, AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets tumbled Wednesday as 2019 trading began with news of weaker Chinese manufacturing.

KEEPING SCORE: In early trading, France's CAC 40 plunged 2.3 percent to 4,618.90 and Germany's DAX retreated 1.1 percent to 10,441.67. On Monday, the CAC rose 1.1 percent but it ended 2018 down about 11 percent. London's FTSE 100 retreated 0.1 percent for an annual loss of 12.5 percent. Germany's DAX rose 1.7 percent Friday on its last trading day of 2018 but ended the year down 18 percent. On Wall Street, the future for the Standard & Poor's 500 index was off 1.9 percent and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average also was down 1.9 percent.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.2 percent to 2,465.29 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 2.8 percent to 25,130.35. Seoul's Kospi gave up 1.5 percent to 2,010.00 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 sank 1.2 percent to 5,557.80. India's Sensex shed 1.2 percent to 35,817.25 and Singapore and Taiwan also declined. Bangkok and Manila advanced. Tokyo's markets were closed.

CHINESE FACTORIES: A government survey and one by a major business magazine showed Chinese manufacturing weakened in December as global and domestic demand cooled. Forecasters said that could send shockwaves through Asian economies that supply raw materials and components. Chinese export growth has held up as producers rushed to fill orders before possible new U.S. tariff hikes in Washington's trade battle with Beijing, but forecasters said that effect may be fading.

ANALYST'S COMMENT: The Chinese slowdown "raises a few red flags," said Mizuho Bank's Vishnu Varathan in a report. The slide is "potentially symptomatic of far sharper underlying demand pullback," said Varathan. China's extensive trade ties with its neighbors mean it "will reverberate more widely to other Asian exporters."

US-CHINA TRADE TALKS: Investors are looking ahead to talks this month aimed at settling a U.S.-Chinese tariff battle that threatens to dampen global economic growth. Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed Dec. 1 to a 90-day suspension of further tariff hikes in their fight over Beijing's technology policy but left in place penalties already imposed. No date has been announced but both sides have expressed interest in a settlement. Economists say the 90-day window is likely too small to resolve the full range of issues that bedevil their relations.

NORTH KOREA: Leader Kim Jong Un expressed hope for extending nuclear talks with Trump this year but said Pyongyang is ready to take a different path if Washington "misjudges the patience of our people." Some analysts say North Korea has been trying to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul and put the burden for action on the United States. Pyongyang has accused Washington of failing to respond to its dismantling of a nuclear testing ground and suspension of nuclear and long-range missile tests.

CHINA-TAIWAN: Xi said Beijing is "willing to create a vast space for peaceful unification" with Taiwan but warned the mainland will not tolerate moves toward formal independence for the self-ruled island. The two sides split in 1949 after a civil war but have extensive trade and investment ties. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Monday gains by a Beijing-friendly opposition party in local elections "absolutely don't mean" the island's public "want us to give ground on our autonomy."

CURRENCY: The dollar declined to 108.98 yen from Monday's 109.67. The euro retreated to $1.1441 from $1.1466.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 76 cents to $44.65 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 8 cents on Monday to close at $45.41. Brent crude, used to price international oils, slumped 94 cents to $52.86 per barrel in London. It added 59 cents the previous session to close at $53.80.
 
The roller-coaster ride on Wall Street resumed on Wednesday, the first trading day of the new year, as stocks plunged early on, then slowly recovered and finished with a slight gain.

The Dow Jones was as much as 400 points or 1.7% lower at one stage before bank and tech shares rebounded to put the index in positive territory.



https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...stocks-skid-after-weak-china-factory-readings

The Stock Market Starts off 2019 With More Turbulence
Stocks finish the first trading day of 2019 with small gains as a roller-coaster ride continues for the market.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The roller-coaster ride on Wall Street resumed on Wednesday, the first trading day of the new year, as stocks plunged early on, then slowly recovered and finished with a slight gain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped as much as 398 points in the first few minutes of trading after more shaky economic news from China. But it gradually recouped those losses, and a small rally over the last 15 minutes of trading left major indexes a bit higher than where they started.

That kind of whiplash was typical during the last three months of 2018, and many strategists think it is likely to continue.

A Chinese government survey and one by a major business magazine showed manufacturing in China weakened in December as global and domestic demand cooled. That weighed on big exporters, with tech companies like Microsoft and industrials like Boeing taking sharp losses early on, only to bounce back.

Some of last year's worst performers, including energy and internet companies, led the gains Wednesday.

After gliding gently higher for years, propelled by rising corporate profits and extremely low interest rates from the Federal Reserve, stocks have been heaving up and down in recent months as a host of fears weigh on investors, including threats to global economic growth.

Stocks are coming off their worst year in a decade, and many Americans could be in for a shock when they open their monthly and end-of-the-year 401(k) statements.

The benchmark S&P 500 fell 6 percent in 2018, its first substantial loss since 2008, and dropped 14 percent since late September. Many other stock indexes around the world fared even worse last year.

The U.S. economy has been expanding for almost a decade, and stocks have risen steadily over that time. From September through the end of December, however, investors became more and more worried that challenges such as U.S.-China trade tensions, rising interest rates and political uncertainty could slow the economy and company profits, and possibly tip the U.S. economy and the global one into a recession.

Many Wall Street banks are forecasting a year of modest gains for stocks. But most also say they expect these sharp reversals to continue as investors try to handicap so many unknowns.

Vinay Pande, head of trading strategies for UBS Global Wealth Management, said company earnings jumped in 2018 and are likely to keep improving.

The S&P 500 index finished with a gain of 3.18 points, or 0.1 percent, at 2,510.03, while the Dow rose 18.78 points, or 0.1 percent, to 23,346.24. The Nasdaq composite climbed 30.66 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,665.94.

Most markets were closed on Tuesday for New Year's Day.

Prices on long-term government bonds rose, a sign investors were looking for safer options. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.65 percent from 2.69 percent.

After sharp losses at the start of trading, benchmark U.S. crude jumped 2.5 percent to $46.54 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 2.1 percent to $54.91 per barrel in London. Those gains helped send energy stocks higher.

Oil prices have fallen about 40 percent since early October 2018 as investors reacted to the possibility of weaker demand for energy as economic growth slowed. That led to sharp drops in energy companies.

Julian Emanuel, chief equity and derivatives strategist for BTIG, said investors often start a new year by buying shares of the companies that did the worst the year before.

Meanwhile, health care companies, the best-performing part of the market in 2018, fell Wednesday as drugmakers and insurers lost ground.

In other trading:

—The dollar fell to 109.21 yen from 109.61 yen. The euro fell to $1.1344 from $1.1445. The British pound slid to $1.2609 from $1.2752.

—France's CAC 40 fell 0.9 percent and the British FTSE 100 added 0.1 percent. Germany's DAX rose 0.2 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 2.8 percent and Seoul's Kospi gave up 1.5 percent. Tokyo's markets were closed.

— Wholesale gasoline rose 1.8 percent to $1.33 a gallon. Heating oil gained 1.3 percent to $1.70 a gallon. Natural gas rose 0.6 percent to $2.96 per 1,000 cubic feet.

— Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,284.10 an ounce and silver added 0.7 percent to $15.65 an ounce. Copper fell 0.3 percent to $2.62 a pound.
 
DUMP TRUMP

Stocks tumbled Thursday on Wall Street, with technology companies suffering their worst loss in seven years, after Apple reported that iPhone sales in China are slumping.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 660 points or -2.83%, and the broader S&P 500 index fell 2.5 percent.



https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...mixed-shanghai-down-after-apple-sales-warning

Stocks Dive After Apple Says IPhone Sales in China Slowed
US stocks plunge after Apple warned that iPhone sales in China are slowing down, reinforcing investors' fears that global economic growth is weakening.
Jan. 3, 2019, at 4:24 p.m

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks tumbled Thursday on Wall Street, with technology companies suffering their worst loss in seven years, after Apple reported that iPhone sales in China are slumping.

The rare warning of disappointing results from Apple reinforced investors' fears that the world's second-biggest economy is losing steam and that trade tensions between Washington and Beijing are making things worse.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 660 points, and the broader S&P 500 index fell 2.5 percent.

Apple stock plummeted 10 percent, erasing more than $74 billion in market value. Technology companies and other major exporters, including heavy-machinery companies, also took big losses.

Some of the worst drops were at chipmakers that make components used in smartphones and other gadgets.

"For a while now there's been an adage in the markets that as long as Apple was doing fine, everyone else would be OK," said Neil Wilson, chief markets analyst at Markets.com. "Therefore, Apple's rare profit warning is a red flag for market watchers. The question is to what extent this is more Apple-specific."

Investors were also unsettled by a report Thursday that showed signs of weakness in U.S. manufacturing.

The U.S.-China trade dispute threatens to snarl multinational companies' supply lines and reduce demand for their products. Companies such as General Motors, Caterpillar and Daimler have all said recently that trade tensions, combined with slower growth in China, were damaging their businesses.

"When the largest and second-largest economies in the world get into a trade dispute, the rest of the world's going to feel the effects. That's what we're seeing now," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of Cresset Wealth Advisors.

In a letter to shareholders Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said iPhone demand is waning in China and would hurt revenue for the October-December quarter. Cook said Apple expects revenue of $84 billion for the quarter. That's $7 billion less than analysts expected.

Cook's comments echoed the concerns that have pushed investors to flee the stock market over the last three months. Many global indexes posted their worst year in a decade amid concerns about the global economy and the prospect of further U.S. interest rate increases.

The S&P 500 lost 62.14 points to 2,447.89. The Dow slid 2.8 percent to 22,868.22. The Nasdaq, which has a high concentration of tech stocks, retreated 202.43 points, or 3 percent, to 6,463.50.

U.S. government bond prices surged, sending yields to their lowest level in almost a year, and gold and high-dividend stocks like utilities also rose as investors looked for safer places to put their money.

A weak report Thursday on U.S. manufacturing also weighed on the market. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of manufacturing fell to its lowest level in two years, and new orders have fallen sharply since November. Manufacturing is still growing, but at a slower pace than it has recently.

Apple's stock has slumped 39 percent since early October. The company also recently announced that it would stop disclosing how many iPhones it sold each quarter, a move many investors suspected was an attempt to hide bad news.

Apple took its biggest loss in six years Thursday and ended at $142.19. Microsoft shed 3.7 percent to $97.40. Among chip makers, Intel fell 5.5 percent to $44.49. The S&P 500 technology companies had their worst day since August 2011.

Among big industrial companies, Caterpillar gave up 3.9 percent to $121.51, and Deere lost 2.7 percent to $144.05. Boeing, which sells many of its planes in China, declined 4 percent to $310.90.

Companies that make heavy machinery such as construction equipment are facing less demand as China's economy, the largest in the world after the U.S., loses strength. They are also dealing with higher costs for metals as a result of tariffs.

Markets overseas also stumbled. Germany's DAX dropped 1.5 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 1.7 percent, and Britain's FTSE 100 gave up 0.6 percent. In Asia, tech-related stocks suffered most. South Korea's Kospi ended 0.8 percent lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave up 0.3 percent.

Oil prices edged higher. U.S. crude rose 1.2 percent to $47.09 a barrel in New York and Brent crude rose 1.9 percent to $55.95 a barrel in London. Oil prices have nosedived almost 40 percent since early October, and investors' fears about falling demand in China and elsewhere were a key reason for the decline.

The yield on the 2-year Treasury note slid to 2.39 percent from 2.50 percent, and the yield on the 10-year note sank to 2.56 percent from 2.66 percent. Both were large moves.

The dollar weakened. It fell to 107.777 yen from 109.21 yen. The euro rose to $1.1391 from $1.344. The British pound fell to $1.2630 from $1.2690.

Gold climbed 0.8 percent to $1,294.80 an ounce. Silver rose 0.9 percent to $15.80 an ounce. Copper, which is used in construction and wiring, fell 2.1 percent to $2.57 a pound.

In other commodities trading, wholesale gasoline rose 1.8 percent to $1.35 a gallon and heating oil climbed 2.4 percent to $1.74 a gallon. Natural gas fell 0.4 percent to $2.95 per 1,000 cubic feet.
 
Global stocks soared Friday and reversed the big losses they suffered just a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 746 points in the latest twist in a wild three months for markets.



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Stocks Swing to Huge Gains After Jobs Report, Trade Talks
Stocks soar on Wall Street, erasing the plunge they took a day earlier, as a string of encouraging developments relieve investors who have been worried about the U.S. economy.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Global stocks soared Friday and reversed the big losses they suffered just a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 746 points in the latest twist in a wild three months for markets.

Hopes for progress in the U.S.-China trade dispute, a strong report on the U.S. jobs market and encouraging comments from the head of the U.S. central bank about its interest rate policy all combined to cheer investors.

China's Commerce Ministry said trade talks will be held Monday and Tuesday in Beijing, and investors will again look for signs the world's largest economic powers are resolving their dispute. The tensions have dragged on for nearly a year, slowing business and dragging down stock indexes worldwide.

Meanwhile the Labor Department said U.S. employers added 312,000 jobs last month, a far stronger result than experts had anticipated. U.S. stocks have tumbled since October as investors worried that the economy might slow down dramatically because of challenges including the trade dispute and rising interest rates.

The stock market's plunge also threatened to shake up the confidence and the spending plans of businesses and consumers. Some analysts said investors were acting as if a recession was on the horizon, despite a lack of evidence that the U.S. economy is struggling.

"It's hard to square recession worries with the strongest job growth we've seen in years," said Alec Young, managing director of global markets research for FTSE Russell.

Stocks rose even further after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will be flexible in deciding if and when it raises interest rates. He added that the Fed is open to making changes in the way it shrinks its giant portfolio of bonds, which affects rates on long-term loans such as mortgages.

Until recently, the Fed had suggested it planned to raise short-term interest rates three times this year and next, and Powell said the Fed's balance sheet was shrinking "on auto-pilot." Wall Street feared that the Fed might be moving too fast in raising borrowing costs, said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors.

The Fed's interest-rate and bond portfolio policies "were at the top of the list of things we were concerned about, which is why the statement Powell made today is so supportive of the market," Orlando said. "The Fed understands that what they attempted to communicate last month was inartful, that they didn't get the right message across, and Powell tried to reset."

The S&P 500 index climbed 84.05 points, or 3.4 percent, to 2,531.94, more than wiping out Thursday's loss. The Dow rose 3.3 percent to 23,433.16 after gaining 832 during the afternoon. The Nasdaq composite jumped 275.35 points, or 4.3 percent, to 6,738.86.

About 90 percent of the stocks on the New York Stock Exchange traded higher.

Stocks sank Thursday after Apple said iPhone sales in China are falling, partly because of the trade fight, and a survey suggested U.S. factories grew at a weaker pace. Technology companies took their biggest losses in seven years.

The U.S. and China have raised tariffs on billions of dollars of each other's goods in a fight over issues including Beijing's technology policy. Last month, President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to 90-day ceasefire as a step toward defusing tensions, but that failed to calm the stock market.

Technology companies, banks, health care and industrial companies all made strong gains. Most of the companies in those industries stand to do better in times of faster economic growth.

Smaller and more U.S.-focused companies did even better than larger multinationals. The Russell 2000 index surged 49.92 points, or 3.8 percent, to 1,380.75. Smaller companies have fallen further than larger ones in the last few months as investors got nervous about how the U.S. economy will perform in 2019 and 2020.

Stocks have whipsawed between huge gains and losses for the last few weeks after their big December plunge. Katie Nixon, the chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management, said investors will continue to react to the health of the economy, and to concerns about high levels of corporate debt as interest rates rise.

"We don't expect that this will be the end to the volatility," she said. "There's mounting evidence we're going to see a slowdown," albeit not a severe one.

Bond prices also changed course and moved sharply lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.66 percent after it plunged to 2.55 percent Thursday, its lowest in almost a year. That helps banks, as higher interest rates allow them to make bigger profits on mortgages and other loans.

European shares also overcome losses from a day earlier, with Germany's DAX gaining 3.4 percent and France's CAC 40 rising 2.7 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 2.2 percent.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.2 percent. South Korea's Kospi added 0.8 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 2.3 percent on its first day of trading in 2019 as technology and electronics makers slumped on Apple's report that Chinese iPhone sales were slipping.

U.S. crude oil added 1.8 percent to $47.96 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was up 2 percent to $57.06 per barrel in London.

The dollar strengthened. It rose to 108.51 yen from 107.77 yen. The euro rose to $1.14 from $1.1391. The British pound moved up to $1.2740 from $1.2630.

Wholesale gasoline dipped 0.1 percent to $1.35 a gallon and heating oil added 1.6 percent to $1.77 a gallon. Natural gas rose 3.4 percent to $3.04 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In other trading, gold fell 0.7 percent to $1,285.80 an ounce and silver slipped 0.1 percent to $15.79 an ounce. Copper rose 3.1 percent to $2.65 a pound.

0200

 
Stocks rose again Monday, led by gains in retailers and smaller companies after a report showed strong orders last month for service-sector companies, where most Americans work. Investors were also encouraged by the resumption of trade talks between the U.S. and China.


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Stocks Climb on Trade Talks and Encouraging Economic Report
Stocks rise again on Wall Street following another encouraging signal on the economy, this time on growth in service-sector companies, and as the U.S. and China begin a new round of trade talks.
Jan. 7, 2019, at 4:50 p.m.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose again Monday, led by gains in retailers and smaller companies after a report showed strong orders last month for service-sector companies, where most Americans work. Investors were also encouraged by the resumption of trade talks between the U.S. and China.

That helped stocks build on the huge gains they made Friday. The U.S. economy has been a top concern for investors over the last three months, and the strong report on service companies showed that banks, health care and construction companies were holding up well.

Dollar stores and other retailers, clothing companies and car makers all climbed. Amazon surpassed Microsoft to become the most valuable publicly-traded company. The two-day gain followed a huge pullback last Thursday, when a weak report on manufacturing helped send large multinational companies sharply lower.

"The portion of the economy that's domestically focused is doing better than the portion that is exporting, and arguably that is coming from the trade winds and the tensions we see from that," said Jason Pride, chief investment officer of private clients at Glenmede.

The S&P 500 added 17.75 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,549.69. The index, a benchmark for many mutual funds, closed at its highest in more than three weeks, and it's risen 8.4 percent since Dec. 24. It's still 13 percent below the record high it reached late September.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 98.19 points, or 0.4 percent, to 23,531.35. The Nasdaq gained 84.61 points, or 1.3 percent, to 6,823.47.

Smaller companies, which tend to be more closely linked to how well the domestic economy is doing, did far better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 jumped 24.62 points, or 1.8 percent, to 1,405.37.

While trading has been rough over the last two weeks, stocks have moved higher as investors hoped that the U.S. and China will finally make progress in trade talks. But Wall Street is fearful that the trade dispute is far from a resolution. The U.S. and China both placed tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of each other's exports in 2018, and those taxes are likely to rise in March if they don't make progress in negotiations.

Reports of the latest round of trade discussions contributed to the market's big rally Friday.

"This is the biggest wild card, because you don't know exactly how these parties are going to reach an agreement," said Pride. "Just keeping the tariffs that have been announced so far and not going ahead with new ones would be a positive surprise for the market."

Amazon rose 3.4 percent to $1,629.51, bringing its value to $796.8 billion, compared to $783.6 billion for Microsoft.

Dollar Tree rose after activist investment firm Starboard value disclosed a stake in the discount retailer and pushed the company to consider selling the Family Dollar chain it bought in 2015. It nominated seven candidates for seats on Dollar Tree's board of directors. The stock climbed 5.5 percent to $97.96. Elsewhere, Target gained 4.9 percent to $69.68.

Oil prices continued their recent rally. U.S. crude rose 1.2 percent to $48.52 per barrel in New York. After sinking to an 18-month low of $42.53 a barrel on Dec. 24, the price of U.S. crude has risen for seven of the last eight trading days. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 0.5 percent to $57.33 per barrel in London.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.69 percent from 2.65 percent.

The parent company of Pacific Gas & Electric plunged after Reuters reported that the company might file for bankruptcy protection as it faces potentially huge liabilities connected to deadly wildfires in California in 2017 and 2018. The company's stock dropped 22.3 percent to $18.95. PG&E traded at almost $70 a share in October 2017 and about $48 in November 2018.

In the second big pharmaceutical deal of 2019, Eli Lilly will buy Loxo Oncology for about $8 billion as it bulks up on cancer treatments that target gene abnormalities. Loxo soared 66.3 percent to $232.65 and Lilly added 0.5 percent to $115.28.

On Thursday Bristol-Myers Squibb agreed to buy Celgene for $74 billion, one of the largest drug industry acquisitions of all time.

Shares of the companies that run stock exchanges fell after a group of nine banks, brokers and other companies said they are planning to launch a new exchange. The companies said their Members Exchange will reduce costs and simplify trading.

Nasdaq fell 2.6 percent to $79.81 and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, fell 3 percent to $73.38.

Mattel jumped 7.7 percent to $11.21 after the toy company said it's gained the rights to make dolls of the South Korean pop band BTS. Last year BTS became the first K-Pop group to reach the top slot on the Billboard Top 200. The licensing agreement also covers collectible figures and games.

In other commodities trading, wholesale gasoline dipped 0.5 percent to $1.34 a gallon and heating oil rose 0.5 percent to $1.78 a gallon. Natural gas sank 3.3 percent to $2.94 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,289.90 an ounce. Silver slipped 0.2 percent to $15.76 an ounce. Copper fell 0.4 percent to $2.64 a pound.

The dollar rose to 108.59 yen from 108.51 yen. The euro rose to $1.1478 from $1.1400.

Germany's DAX shed 0.2 percent and the FTSE 100 in Britain and CAC 40 France both fell 0.4 percent.

The Japanese Nikkei 225 index gained 2.4 percent, while South Korea's Kospi rose 1.3 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.8 percent.
 
Stocks climbed for the third day in a row Tuesday as the latest round of trade talks between Washington and Beijing continued. It's the longest winning streak for U.S. indexes since late November.

News reports said the trade negotiations would be extended to a third day, a potential positive sign even though no major developments have been announced so far. Experts say it will take months for them to resolve the causes of the trade war, which include disagreements over Beijing's handling of technology and intellectual property.



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Stocks Rise Again as Investors Hope for Trade Breakthrough
Stocks rise for the third day in a row, led by industrial, technology, internet and energy companies as representatives from the U.S. and China continue their latest round of trade talks.
Jan. 8, 2019, at 4:32 p.m

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks climbed for the third day in a row Tuesday as the latest round of trade talks between Washington and Beijing continued. It's the longest winning streak for U.S. indexes since late November.

News reports said the trade negotiations would be extended to a third day, a potential positive sign even though no major developments have been announced so far. Experts say it will take months for them to resolve the causes of the trade war, which include disagreements over Beijing's handling of technology and intellectual property.

Investors have become notably more optimistic about an eventual deal, a sharp reversal of the concerns that helped send stocks plunging in October and December. An agreement between the two biggest economic powers in the world could remove a major obstacle to global economic growth, and many of the biggest gains Tuesday went to companies that usually do better in times of faster growth, including internet, technology and industrial stocks. Oil prices also kept rallying.

Kate Warne, an investment strategist for Edward Jones, said the market's large moves in recent weeks reflect investors' questions about major issues including economic growth, the threats of recession and trade tensions, and rising interest rates. She said it's normal for stocks to repeatedly change course as traders grapple with those issues on a day-to-day basis.

"You have new information that's driving stock prices both higher and lower, and that's pretty typical when there's uncertainty and there's a lot of new information coming into the market," she said.

Warne added that trading on Wall Street is typically light during the holidays, and that may have contributed to the huge swings in late December and early January.

The S&P 500 index rose 24.72 points, or 1 percent, to 2,574.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 256.10 points, or 1.1 percent, to 23,787.45.

The Nasdaq composite climbed 73.53 points, or 1.1 percent, to 6,897. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocked gained 21.19 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,426.55.

Railroad operator Union Pacific made one of the biggest gains among S&P 500 companies. It surged 8.7 percent to $150.75 after hiring longtime Canadian National railroad executive Jim Vena as its chief operating officer. Other transportation and industrial companies also jumped. Aerospace giant Boeing rose 3.8 percent to $340.53 and trucking and logistics company J.B. Hunt rose 2.8 percent to $95.88.

Among communications companies, Facebook rose 3.2 percent to $142.53. Verizon added 2.9 percent to $58.38 after it reported strong wireless subscriber gains in the fourth quarter. Among consumer-focused companies, Amazon gained 1.7 percent to $1,656.58 and Nike shot up 1.3 percent to $76.73.

Oil prices also continued to rally. U.S. crude rose for the eighth day in the last nine, jumping 2.6 percent to $49.78 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 2.4 percent to $58.72 a barrel in London.

U.S. crude dropped from $76 a barrel in early October to about $42 a barrel on Dec. 24 as investors worried about slowing economic growth and a supply glut. Brighter prospects for growth and higher energy demand have helped send energy prices higher since then.

Bond prices fell and yields rose, another sign of optimism about economic growth. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.73 percent from 2.65 percent late Monday.

Despite the upward move in bond yields, which usually helps banks by sending borrowing rates higher, bank stocks lagged the market on Tuesday.

Investors may have been preparing for future disappointment: analysts for Goldman Sachs lowered their forecasts for bond yields around the world.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note has fallen sharply since October, when it reached a seven-year high, and the report says yields "may have peaked for this (economic) cycle."

South Korean smartphone and computer chip maker Samsung said demand for chips is weak because the global economy is slowing. Last week Apple said its iPhone sales in China slumped, which traders took as a warning sign about its economy.

Samsung fell 1.7 percent in Seoul and U.S. chipmakers slipped. Nvidia lost 2.5 percent to $139.83.

Car retailer AutoNation said 2019 will be challenging year for sales, and its stock lost 3.9 percent to $36.18. The company also said it is restructuring its business, and several top executives including its chief operating officer are departing. Used car dealership CarMax gave up 2.3 percent to $64.91 while auto parts retailer AutoZone skidded 1.3 percent to $811.37.

The dollar edged up to 108.65 yen from 108.59 yen. The euro fell to $1.1443 from $1.1478.

In other commodities trading, gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,285.90 an ounce and silver dipped 0.3 percent to $15.71 an ounce. Copper rose 0.7 percent to $2.66 a pound.

Wholesale gasoline rallied 1.6 percent to $1.36 a gallon while heating oil jumped 2.7 percent to $1.83 a gallon. Natural gas gained 0.8 percent to $2.97 per 1,000 cubic feet.

France's CAC 40 jumped 1.1 percent and Germany's DAX rose 0.5 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.7 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.8 percent and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.2 percent. The South Korean Kospi gave up 0.5 percent.
 
Stocks cinched their fourth consecutive gain Wednesday as indexes around the world build on their early 2019 rally. The gains for U.S. indexes faded slightly after President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders said Trump cut short a meeting on ending the partial shutdown of the federal government.

The last four-day winning streak for the S&P 500 ended in mid-September.



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Stocks Post 4th Straight Gain as Hopes Build on China Trade
US stocks rose for the fourth straight day Wednesday, the longest winning streak since September, after negotiators from the U.S. and China extended their trade talks to a third day.
Jan. 9, 2019, at 4:39 p.m.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks cinched their fourth consecutive gain Wednesday as indexes around the world build on their early 2019 rally. The gains for U.S. indexes faded slightly after President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders said Trump cut short a meeting on ending the partial shutdown of the federal government.

The last four-day winning streak for the S&P 500 ended in mid-September. The index, the benchmark for many mutual funds, retirement plans and investment professionals, has climbed 9.9 percent since Dec. 24.

Negotiators from the U.S. and China extended their trade talks to a third day, which investors took as a sign the trade discussions were productive even though the two sides didn't announce any breakthroughs. Stocks linked to faster economic growth, such as technology and energy companies, kept rising.

Oil prices rose for the ninth day out of 10, bringing U.S. crude back above $50 a barrel for the first time in almost a month. European stocks made solid gains and Asian indexes jumped.

Wednesday's rally thinned when Trump tweeted that his meeting with Congressional leaders was a "waste of time," while top Democrats said Trump left after they didn't agree to fund the border wall Trump has demanded.

The partial government shutdown has lasted almost three weeks, meaning 800,000 federal employees are temporarily out of work or working unpaid. Because many federal agencies are shuttered, the government can't send out a variety of payments, government-backed mortgage loan applications aren't being approved, companies can't go public on stock exchanges and a number of economic reports watched by investors aren't being released.

U.S. Bank Wealth Management chief equity strategist Terry Sandven said the economy looks solid, but this year is likely to be a bumpy one for stocks because investors will be very sensitive to trade threats and signs of slower growth.

"We're in this roller-coaster mode," he said. "We're in a trading range that we'll be in for the course of the year."

The S&P 500 index climbed 10.55 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,584.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 91.67 points, or 0.4 percent, to 23,879.12. The Nasdaq composite rose 60.08 points, or 0.9 percent, to 6,957.08. The Russell 2000 index of smaller and U.S.-focused stocks added 12.25 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,438.81.

Sandven said stocks could keep rising next week as U.S. corporations start to report their fourth-quarter results, as their profits are expected to rise compared to last year.

"You still have moderating earnings growth, non-problematic inflation and relatively low interest rates," he said.

Experts think the trade negotiations will have to continue for months before an agreement is reached. The Trump administration wants the government of President Xi Jinping to alter its handling of technology held by foreign companies, and while Chinese officials have suggested they could revise some of their industrial plans, they say they won't abandon larger goals that they consider a path to prosperity and global influence.

Chipmaker Micron Technology surged 5.6 percent to $35.93 and competitor Broadcom climbed 3.7 percent to $244.77. Many chip companies have manufacturing operations in China and make big chunks of their sales there. Traders felt that made them especially vulnerable in the U.S.-China spat. They were also concerned about an abrupt slowdown in the global economy and the possibility that supplies were too large.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index sank 25 percent from early June to late December before a recent recovery.

In overseas trading, Germany's DAX and the French CAC 40 each added 0.8 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.1 percent and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rallied 2.3 percent.

Oil prices hit their highest in almost a month after rising for the ninth day in the last 10. U.S. crude rose 5.2 percent to $52.36 a barrel in New York. It's jumped 15 percent so far in 2019. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 4.6 percent to $61.44 a barrel in London.

Lennar jumped 7.9 percent to $46.29 and other homebuilders also rose after CEO Stuart Miller said more potential buyers have been coming to Lennar's model homes recently as mortgage rates dipped. That could be a sign sales will pick up.

Homebuilder stocks took huge losses in 2018 as high prices and increasing mortgage rates hurt sales.

Bond prices recouped an early loss and wound up little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note remained at 2.71 percent.

With investors becoming a bit more optimistic about trade and economic growth, high-dividend stocks including utilities and food, drink and household goods makers fell. Beer and wine maker Constellation Brands slumped after it cut its annual profit forecast, saying it now expects sales and profits for its wine and spirits division to fall in the current fiscal year. The stock slumped 12.4 percent to $150.894.

The Corona maker also said it wrote down the value of its $4 billion investment in Canadian marijuana producer Canopy Growth by $164 million. Pot stocks proved popular as Canada legalized recreational marijuana and companies like Constellation and Altria announced partnerships with growers. But the stocks have been extremely volatile. After strong gains early in 2018, Canopy stock has dropped 40 percent since mid-October.

In other commodities trading, wholesale gasoline rose 4.6 percent to $1.43 a gallon and heating oil added 2.9 percent to $1.88 a gallon. Natural gas edged up 0.6 percent to $2.98 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 0.5 percent to $1,292 an ounce. Silver inched up 0.1 percent to $15.74 an ounce and copper was unchanged at $2.66 a pound.

The dollar slipped to 108.28 yen from 108.65 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1544 from $1.1443.
 
A day of back-and-forth trading Thursday ended with the fifth gain in a row for U.S. stocks. Industrial companies like Boeing and General Electric rose while retailers fell as Macy's suffered its biggest loss of all time.


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Industrials Lead US Stocks Higher Again; Macy's Nosedives
U.S. stocks finish higher for the fifth day in a row in uneven trading; Macy's nosedives.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — A day of back-and-forth trading Thursday ended with the fifth gain in a row for U.S. stocks. Industrial companies like Boeing and General Electric rose while retailers fell as Macy's suffered its biggest loss of all time.

Stocks struggled in the early going and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 175 points after U.S. and Chinese officials wrapped trade talks in Beijing. Transportation and machinery companies climbed after the U.S. Trade Representative said China agreed to buy more agricultural and manufactured products.

Macy's said its sales over the holidays were worse than expected and slashed its annual profit and sales forecasts. Kohl's and L Brands also posted disappointing results and a wide variety of retailers plunged as investors worried that the stock market's December plunge stopped some shoppers from spending as much as they had planned.

"High-end consumers, even though they're making decent money (and) the economy is going on relatively strong, it may have affected their willingness to splurge over the holidays," said Ken Perkins, president of the research firm Retail Metrics. "It was not good timing at all."

The S&P 500 index added 11.68 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,596.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 122.80 points, or 0.5 percent, to 24,001.92 after it fell 175 points in the morning.

The Nasdaq composite rose 28.99 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,986.07. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 6.63 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,445.43.

U.S. negotiators said China's delegation pledged to buy more energy and agricultural products and manufactured goods. That helped Boeing climb 2.6 percent to $352.61 and General Electric jumped 5.2 percent to $8.94 while Deere rose 3.1 percent to $159.12.

However, that point is considered a relatively minor area of disagreement, and there were no hints of progress on bigger issues. The U.S. wants China to change its technology policy to reduce cyber theft of trade secrets and seeks more access to the Chinese market and increased protection for foreign patents and copyrights.

Macy's said holiday sales slowed in the middle of December and the department store cut its annual profit and sales forecasts. Its stock plunged 17.7 percent to $26.11 in heavy trading. Macy's went public in February 1992 and reached an all-time high of almost $73 a share in mid-2015, but four of the five biggest one-day plunges in its history have come in the last three years.

Macy's announcement came as a surprise because investor expectations for the holiday season have been high. Unemployment is the lowest it's been in decades, wages are rising and consumer confidence is high, while gas prices dropped late last year. In late December, stocks rallied after Mastercard SpendingPulse said shoppers spent $850 billion between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, an increase of 5 percent from the same time a year earlier.

But the stock market fell sharply in October and then took a dramatic drop over the first three weeks of December. Shortly afterward the federal government went into a partial shutdown that is still ongoing.

While large numbers retailers took steep losses Thursday, Perkins said the market turmoil is a much bigger problem for companies like Macy's because most stocks are owned by relatively wealthy people. That means big box stores and companies that sell less expensive goods won't be affected as much, as shown by Target's stronger sales report. Perkins added that said Amazon likely had a "stellar" holiday season.

Chipmakers rose and other technology stocks edged higher, while high-dividend stocks like utilities and household goods companies made strong gains.

Oil prices extended their rally to a ninth consecutive day. U.S. crude added 0.4 percent to $52.59 a barrel in New York. It's now up 23.7 percent since hitting an 18-month low on Dec. 24. Brent crude, the international standard, slid 0.4 percent to $61.68 a barrel in London.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was interviewed at the Economic Club of Washington DC. Stocks briefly fell after Powell said he expects the Fed's $4 trillion bond portfolio to shrink until it is "substantially smaller than it is now." Powell noted that the Fed had about $1 trillion on its balance sheet before the 2007-08 financial crisis.

The Fed's bond holdings are slowly shrinking, which tends to put upward pressure on long-term interest rates. Investors have grown concerned about the effects of those tighter credit conditions as the global economy slows. Powell said in December that the Fed could slow the changes to its portfolio if necessary.

Bond prices slipped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.74 percent from 2.72 percent.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline added 0.4 percent to $1.43 a gallon and heating oil rose 1.3 percent to $1.91 a gallon. Natural gas dipped 0.5 percent to $2.70 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,287.40 an ounce and silver shed 0.6 percent to $15.64 an ounce. Copper lost 0.7 percent to $2.97 a pound.

The dollar rose to 108.42 yen from 108.28 yen and the euro fell to $1.1500 from $1.1544.

France's CAC 40 lost 0.2 percent while Germany's DAX edged up 0.3 percent. The British FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index, which gained more than 1 percent on Wednesday, fell 1.3 percent and the Kospi in South Korea dropped 0.1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng recovered from early losses and added 0.2 percent.
 


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US Stocks Drift in a Quiet Close to Another Winning Week
U.S. stock indexes nestled a hair lower on Friday after the falling price of oil weighed on energy companies. The S&P 500 nevertheless closed out its third straight winning week following a brutal stretch in December.
Jan. 11, 2019, at 4:47 p.m.

By STAN CHOE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes nestled a hair lower on Friday after the falling price of oil weighed on energy companies, but the S&P 500 nevertheless closed out its third straight winning week following a brutal stretch in December.

It was a day full of broken streaks — oil fell for the first time in two weeks, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note sank to its first loss in more than a week — but the market remained calm through it. Gradual moves for markets in recent days have offered a respite following the tumultuous trading that rocked investors in late 2018.

"After some of the initial gains we saw earlier in the week I think it's just a rally looking tired," said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. "I think it's probably not much more than a chance for people to digest the move and try to get a sense of whether we've had a bounce — and this is it — or maybe a pause as we continue to move higher."

The S&P 500 edged down by 0.38 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2,596.26. Last month, a typical day for the index was a swing 10 times that.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 5.97 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 23,995.95. The Nasdaq composite lost 14.59, or 0.2 percent, to 6,971.48, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks ticked up by 1.95, or 0.1 percent, to 1,447.38.

It was the first loss for the S&P 500 in six days, and much of the reason for it was the falling price of oil. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 1.9 percent to settle at $51.59 per barrel, and Brent crude, the international standard, sank 1.9 percent to $60.48 a barrel.

That helped pull energy stock in the S&P 500 down 0.6 percent, the largest loss among the 11 sectors that make up the index. ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil and Hess all fell more than 1 percent.

Big gains earlier in the week meant the S&P 500 was still hanging onto a 2.5 percent rise for the last five days. The three-week winning streak for the S&P 500 is its longest since August. Not only that, the last three weeks of gains have all been of more than 1.8 percent. The last time that happened was in 2001.

The S&P 500 has been clawing back gains since running to the edge of what traders call a "bear market," when it dropped 19.8 percent between setting a record in September and a low on Christmas Eve. Stocks have climbed on soothing words from the Federal Reserve about the future path of interest rates, plus hopes that the U.S.-China trade dispute may ease. That's helped to at least paper over worries about slowing growth for corporate earnings and the possibility of a looming recession.

Companies across the country are gearing up to report how much profit they made in the last three months of 2018, and expectations are for a fifth straight quarter of growth topping 10 percent.

General Motors gave an encouraging sign Friday when it gave better-than-expected profit forecasts for both 2018 and 2019. That helped the automaker surge to the biggest gain in the S&P 500, and it jumped $2.45, or 7.1 percent, to $37.18.

Other big-name companies have recently offered a more discouraging picture of revenue trends due to slowing growth in China and elsewhere.

That's why analysts say this upcoming earnings reporting season, which kicks off in earnest next week, could be the next trigger for volatility in the market. Delwiche said he wants to hear how optimistic CEOs are given all the uncertainties about the economy.

"We've seen some retrenchment in business confidence," Delwiche said. "Is it a blip or evidence that those animal spirits that we saw are starting to dissipate?"

In overseas markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1 percent, the Kospi in South Korea rose 0.6 percent and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.5 percent. In Europe, France's CAC 40 dropped 0.5 percent, and Germany's DAX lost 0.3 percent. The FTSE 100 in London fell 0.4 percent.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.69 percent from 2.73 percent late Thursday.

In the commodities markets, gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,289.50 per ounce, silver edged up 0.1 percent to $15.66 per ounce and copper rose 0.9 percent to $2.66 per pound.

Natural gas gained 4.4 percent to $3.10 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil lost 1.4 percent to $1.88 per gallon, and wholesale gasoline slipped 2.1 percent to $1.40 per gallon.

The dollar rose to 108.50 Japanese yen from 108.42 yen late Thursday. The euro slipped to $1.1465 from $1.1500, and the British pound rose to $1.2845 from $1.2746.

0867
 
Stocks took small losses Monday after China reported a drop in exports in December, but the market didn't come close to matching the plunges it took in the last few months.



https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...-sink-after-china-reports-slowdown-in-exports

Another Sign of Weakness in China Weighs on US Stocks
US stocks slip after China said its exports fell in December, but major indexes avoid the big losses they took in late 2018 when investors worried about the state of the global economy.
Jan. 14, 2019, at 4:25 p.m.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks took small losses Monday after China reported a drop in exports in December, but the market didn't come close to matching the plunges it took in the last few months.

Indexes in Europe and Asia headed slightly lower after the latest report added more evidence that China's economy is weakening. Major U.S. indexes fell about 1 percent at the start of trading, but soon recovered much of what they'd lost. Technology companies slumped.

Drugmakers fell after Democrats in the House of Representatives announced an investigation into prescription drug pricing. A strong quarterly report from Citigroup helped bank stocks trade higher.

China's exports slipped in December, and exports to the U.S. fell 3.5 percent as rising tariffs and broader weakness affected the world's second-largest economy. Concerns about the Chinese economy and the overall global economy were a major contributor to the market's plunge in late 2018.

Mark Esposito, president of Esposito Securities, said the calm reaction to the news from China suggests stocks won't fall further than they did in December.

"That's a very positive sign that, at least in the short term, we may have found a bottom," he said. "People lose faith and hope when (the market) drops 20 percent in a very short period like it did."

The S&P 500 index dropped from late September until the day before Christmas, partly because investors were worried that the global economy was slowing dramatically and could fall into a recession. Since Dec. 26, stocks have regained about half of what they lost in the downturn.

On Monday the S&P 500 fell 13.65 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,582.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 230 points Monday morning, but finished with a loss of 86.11 points, or 0.4 percent, to 23,909.84.

The Nasdaq composite retreated 65.56 points, or 0.9 percent, to 6,905.92. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks shed 14.57 points, or 1 percent, to 1,432.81.

The stock market's recent rally suggests investors aren't quite as worried about the global economy or the state of trade talks. They still took a cautious approach to technology companies. Apple lost 1.5 percent to $150. The company's shares tumbled last month after it said sales in China were falling. Chipmaker Texas Instruments lost 2.3 percent to $96.33.

Also falling was Wynn Resorts, which has two of its three casinos in Macau. It slumped 4.8 percent to $108.10.

A leading House Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings, announced a sweeping investigation of the pharmaceutical industry's pricing practices for drugs that are used to treat conditions including cancer, diabetes, kidney failure and nerve pain.

The Trump administration is pursuing its own plan to lower drug prices by approving more generic medications and trying to do away with industry practices that allow manufacturers, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers to profit at the consumer's expense.

AbbVie fell 2.8 percent to $84.76 while Merck lost 2 percent to $73.37.

Citigroup and other banks stood out. Citi said its earnings rose in the last three months of 2018, helped by a lower tax rate and lower expenses. Its stock gained 4 percent to $58.93.

PG&E, the parent of Pacific Gas and Electric, said it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and its stock plunged 52.4 percent to $8.38. It faces potentially colossal liabilities over deadly wildfires in 2017 and 2018 and announced the resignation of CEO Geisha Williams on Sunday. The company says deliveries of natural gas and electricity shouldn't be affected.

PG&E's market value has dropped by $20 billion since November, when reports indicated PG&E had a power outage around the time and place the deadly Camp Fire began. That blaze killed at least 86 people and destroyed 15,000 homes.

Investors now value the company at $4.3 billion. Media reports say PG&E's liabilities could reach $30 billion.

British lawmakers are scheduled to vote Tuesday on Prime Minister Theresa May's deal covering Britain's planned departure from the European Union, and all indications are that the deal will be rejected. That could contribute to volatility for U.K. markets, particularly the pound. Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29.

The FTSE 100 index fell 0.9 percent and the pound rose to $1.2865 from $1.2845.

Investors also reacted to deal talks. Newmont Mining will buy Canada's Goldcorp for $10 billion, creating the world's biggest gold miner as gold becomes more expensive to procure. Goldcorp rallied 7.1 percent to $10.38 while Newmont fell 8.9 percent to $31.78.

Gannett, the publisher of USA Today, rocketed 21.2 percent to $11.82 after Digital First Media said it offered to buy the company for $1.36 billion. Gannett said will review the proposal.

Bond prices turned lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.71 percent from 2.69 percent.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil gave up 2.1 percent to $50.51 per barrel in New York, while Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2.5 percent to $58.99 per barrel in London.

Natural gas jumped 15.9 percent to $3.59 per 1,000 cubic feet. Wholesale gasoline fell 2.6 percent to $1.36 a gallon and heating oil lost 1.4 percent to $1.85 a gallon.

The dollar fell to 108.20 yen from 108.50 yen. The euro remained at $1.1465.

Germany's DAX slid 0.3 percent while the CAC 40 in France fell 0.4 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 1.4 percent and the Kospi in South Korea declined 0.5 percent.
 
U.S. stocks rallied to their highest level in more than a month Tuesday after China's government moved to inject more life into its economy by cutting taxes and increasing spending. Netflix led a surge in high-tech companies.

A Sea of Green



https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...s-recover-as-china-outlines-2019-policy-plans

US Indexes Hit One-Month Highs as Netflix Leads Tech Rally
US stocks rise to their highest levels in a month, led by Netflix and other technology and internet companies as well as health care companies.
Jan. 15, 2019, at 4:40 p.m.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied to their highest level in more than a month Tuesday after China's government moved to inject more life into its economy by cutting taxes and increasing spending. Netflix led a surge in high-tech companies.

Health care companies and banks rose as major companies including UnitedHealth and JPMorgan Chase announced their fourth-quarter results.

The British pound wobbled after legislators soundly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's plan governing the country's departure from the European Union. While the deal's defeat might herald more chaos for companies in Britain and Europe in the months ahead, the outcome of the vote was long expected and stocks didn't react much.

Investors were encouraged to see China makes moves to stimulate growth. China is enduring its worst slowdown since the global financial crisis amid a punishing tariffs dispute with the U.S.

"It shows clear signs they are worried about the economy," said Lindsey Bell, an investment strategist at CFRA. But to investors, who want China's economy to pick up again, Bell said the latest steps were "really welcome news."

The S&P 500 index rose 27.69 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,610.30, its first close above 2,600 since Dec 13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 155.75 points, or 0.7 percent, to 24,065.59.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite jumped 117.92 points, or 1.7 percent, to 7,023.83.

Chinese leaders plan to reduce taxes, increase government spending, and provide financing to private and small enterprises in a bid to strengthen the world's second-largest economy. China is enduring its worst slowdown since the global financial crisis, partly because of a punishing tariff dispute with the U.S.

That helped tech companies, which make big chunks of their sales in China. Microsoft rose 2.9 percent to $105.01 and Broadcom climbed 2.2 percent to $256.49.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rebounded 2 percent, wiping out a loss on Monday. It's moved higher this month but is still down almost 19 percent from its peak in late January 2018.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index, reopening after a market holiday, added 1 percent. The Kospi in South Korea jumped 1.6 percent.

Netflix announced the biggest price increase in its history to help to pay for its huge investment in original shows and films and finance the heavy debt it has assumed to ward off rivals such as Amazon, Disney and AT&T. The price of its most popular video-streaming plan will rise to $13 per month from $11.

Netflix climbed 6.5 percent to $354.75. That touched off strong gains for the other "FANG" stocks: Facebook rose 2.4 percent to $148.95, Amazon gained 3.5 percent to $1,674.56, and Google's parent company Alphabet jumped 3.3 percent to $1,086.51.

Netflix has jumped 32.5 percent in 2019 but was worth almost $420 a share in July.

In Britain, the House of Commons rejected the deal May negotiated with EU leaders by a vote of 432-202. The country is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29 after a June 2016 referendum where a narrow majority of UK subjects voted to take Britain out of the union. It's not clear what will happen to May's government, which faces a vote of no confidence, or the economies and financial systems of Britain and the rest of Europe.

The pound dipped as low as $1.2670 ahead of the vote and later traded at $1.2834, down from $1.2865 late Monday. The British FTSE 100 index closed up 0.6 percent, but banks including Lloyd's and Royal Bank of Scotland slipped.

Bell, the CFRA investment strategist, noted that British stocks have continued to rise since the 2016 referendum because the global economy and company profits kept growing.

"The market has taken it in stride," she said. "Maybe when we get closer to March 29th, when they're officially done without a deal, you could see more volatility."

The FTSE 100 is up 9 percent since the vote, not much different from the German DAX and French CAC 40, but other indexes including the S&P 500, the Hang Seng and the Nikkei 225 have done far better.

Delta Air Lines became one of the first companies to detail how the partial shutdown of the federal government is affecting its business. The airline says it's on pace to lose $25 million in revenue this month. CEO Ed Bastian said the shutdown is keeping Delta from using new Airbus jets because the planes must be certified by safety regulators. They have been furloughed since Dec. 22 in the longest U.S. government shutdown of all time.

An unusually high number of airport screeners have been missing work after they did not get paychecks last week, contributing to long lines at some airports.

Delta met Wall Street's expectations in the fourth quarter. Its stock gyrated and finished with a gain of 0.2 percent at $47.83.

Paint and coatings maker Sherwin-Williams said it was "disappointed" with its sales in October and November, and its profit and sales in the fourth quarter fell short of Wall Street's estimates. Its stock fell 4.1 percent to $381.44. Other coatings makers sank, and home improvement retailer Home Depot gave up 1.3 percent to $176.47 while Lowe's slid 2.1 percent to $94.91.

Oil prices rose as investors felt a bit better about China's economic growth. Benchmark U.S. crude added 3.2 percent to $52.11 a barrel in New York. The international standard, Brent crude, gained 2.8 percent to $60.64 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline jumped 3.5 percent to $1.41 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1.1 percent to $1.87 a gallon and natural gas fell 2.5 percent to $3.50 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold slipped 0.2 percent to $1,288.40 an ounce and silver fell 0.4 percent to $15.62 an ounce. Copper was unchanged at $2.63 a pound.

Bond prices inched lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.72 percent from 2.71 percent.

In Europe, the DAX edged 0.3 percent higher and the CAC 40 in picked up 0.5 percent.

The dollar rose to 108.57 yen from 108.20 yen. The euro dipped to $1.1402 from $1.1465.
 
Banks surged Wednesday following strong results from a slew of financial companies, and U.S. stock indexes finished broadly higher. Concerns about trade tensions between the U.S. and China derailed a bigger gain.



https://finance.yahoo.com/m/8d5bffb6-460f-308a-a4be-3cf91a921f72/big-bank-rally-helps-us.html

Big bank rally helps US stocks finish higher; Goldman soars

MARLEY JAY

NEW YORK (AP) — Banks surged Wednesday following strong results from a slew of financial companies, and U.S. stock indexes finished broadly higher. Concerns about trade tensions between the U.S. and China derailed a bigger gain.

Financial and investment companies surged as fourth-quarter reports from Wall Street continued to roll in. Goldman Sachs' stock had its best day in 10 years, and Bank of America its best in seven. Banks were some of the chief beneficiaries of the corporate tax cut that took effect at the end of 2017, which fattened their balance sheets, but their stocks endured a rough year in 2018.

Willie Delwiche, an investment strategist at Baird, said it will be a good sign for the stock market and the economy if banks continue to report strong results and their stocks keep rallying.

"That to me is a signal that the economy ... is maybe on firmer footing," he said. "The important takeaway from earnings season will not be what companies had to say about the fourth quarter as much as it will be the commentary, not just for the current quarter but for 2019 overall."

U.S. indexes were on track for larger gains before the Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors could bring criminal charges against Chinese tech company Huawei related to alleged theft of trade secrets from U.S. companies. Huawei has been at the center of the trade and technology policy dispute between the U.S. and China, and charges against the company could increase tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The S&P 500 index gained 5.80 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,616.10 after rising as much as 0.6 percent during the day. The S&P 500 is up 4.4 percent so far in January.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 141.57 points, or 0.6 percent, to 24,207.16. The Nasdaq composite rose 10.86 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,034.69.

Smaller companies, especially small banks, did better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index rose 9.48 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,454.70.

Goldman Sachs posted strong results from its advisory business in the fourth quarter even though its trading business, like the rest of Wall Street, struggled as stock and bond markets went through huge swings. While some volatility gives traders an opportunity to make money, several financial firms have said last year's swings were far too large for that. The S&P 500 fell 7 percent in October and then tumbled 9 percent in December, its worst month in nearly a decade.

Goldman's stock jumped 9.5 percent to $197.08 after a steep slump over the past 10 months. Bank of America climbed 7.2 percent to $28.45 after its profit surged thanks to last year's steady rise in interest rates, which has allowed it to charge customers more to use credit cards or take out a mortgage. Bank of America's consumer banking business is by far its largest division by revenue and profits.

Investment firm BlackRock rose 3.1 percent to $413.04 and regional bank Comerica picked up 5.5 percent to $78.13 after they reported their quarterly results.

Britain's FTSE 100 stock index slipped 0.5 percent after Parliament rejected the deal negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May with European leaders over the country's departure from the European Union. May's government survived a vote of no confidence after the close of trading in the U.K.

Economists warn that an abrupt break with the EU on March 29 could batter the British economy, which would face new tariffs and other trade barriers. Chaotic scenes at borders, ports and airports could also follow. But since investors have expected that outcome for some time, British stocks didn't make big moves as May's deal foundered.

The pound rose to $1.2876 from $1.2834. It's fallen 6.6 percent in the last 12 months.

Fiserv is buying First Data in a $22 billion all-stock deal, creating a giant player in the payments and financial technology sector. First Data surged 21.1 percent to $21.24 and Fiserv lost 3.3 percent to $72.57.

Snap slumped again after the social media company said its chief financial officer is leaving after just eight months on the job. Tim Stone is the second Snap CFO to leave in the past year and he's part of a string of top executives who have left in recent months. A redesign of Snapchat's service has also been heavily criticized by users.

Snap traded above $20 last February, but Wednesday's loss of 13.8 percent brought it down to $5.64.

Benchmark U.S. crude added 0.4 percent to $52.31 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.1 percent to $61.37 a barrel in London.

Bond prices dipped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.72 percent from 2.70 percent.

Germany's DAX rose 0.4 percent and France's CAC 40 added 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index, weighed down by weak machinery orders in November, slipped 0.6 percent. South Korea's Kospi added 0.4 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.3 percent.

In other commodities trading, wholesale gasoline edged up 0.3 percent to $1.42 a gallon and heating oil rose 1.2 percent to $1.89 a gallon. Natural gas fell 3.3 percent to $3.38 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,293.80 an ounce and silver inched up 0.1 percent to $15.64 an ounce. Copper rose 1.5 percent to $2.67 a pound.

The dollar rose to 108.92 yen from 108.57 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1398 from $1.1402.
 
U.S. stocks climbed Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. officials could reduce the new tariffs on Chinese imports as part of trade negotiations between the two countries. It was the latest in a series of potentially conflicting updates on the trade dispute.


https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...hares-mixed-on-report-of-huawei-investigation

Stocks Climb on Report US May Pare Back Tariffs on China
US stocks finish with solid gains as investors hope the US might cut back its tariffs on imports from China.
Jan. 17, 2019, at 4:47 p.m

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks climbed Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. officials could reduce the new tariffs on Chinese imports as part of trade negotiations between the two countries. It was the latest in a series of potentially conflicting updates on the trade dispute.

Citing sources close to the discussions, the Journal said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other officials are willing to lift some or all of the import taxes the U.S. announced last year. They're aiming to convince Chinese leaders to make deeper reforms. However, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer reportedly doesn't support the idea, and the proposals haven't been presented to President Donald Trump.

Stocks wobbled earlier following reports late Wednesday that the U.S. might bring criminal charges against Chinese technology giant Huawei over allegations it stole trade secrets. However, China's government said the top trade envoys from both countries will meet in Washington at the end of this month, a possible sign of progress in negotiations

Technology, industrial and health care companies made some of the largest gains, and makers of chemicals and other basic materials jumped.

After three months of big swings that were linked to trade talk developments, investors have adjusted to the uncertainty, said Gina Martin Adams, the chief equity strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence. She said investors want hard data and clear answers about what international trade will look like.

"These issues between Huawei and trade have been a constant source of volatility and uncertainty that is weighing on sentiment," she said. "Any permanence on the issue is going to be deemed an improvement."

The S&P 500 index rose 19.86 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,635.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped as much as 267 points following the report about the potential tariff cuts. It finished with a gain of 162.94 points, or 0.7 percent, at 24,370.10. The Nasdaq composite added 49.77 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,084.46. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed 12.55 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,467.25.

Among tech companies, chipmaker Nvidia gained 1.9 percent to $151.72 and Advanced Micro Devices rose 2.6 percent to $20.25. Hard drive makers struggled, however. Western Digital lost 3.6 percent to $36.47 and Seagate shed 2.5 percent to $38.73 as digital storage companies sank.

Industrial companies also stand to benefit from greater trade and faster economic growth. Defense contractors made strong gains after President Donald Trump called for a space-based missile defense system following a strategy review by the Pentagon.

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman gained 3.3 percent to $264.08 and Lockheed Martin rose 2.4 percent to $278.80. Aerospace company Boeing advanced 2 percent to $359.09.

Elsewhere Fastenal, which makes industrial and construction fasteners, jumped 5.9 percent to $57.34 after it said customers became a bit less cautious about spending in December.

Among health care companies, drugmaker AbbVie added 1.9 percent to $87.20 and medical device maker Becton Dickinson picked up 2.1 percent to $236.11 after it said it had a strong fiscal first quarter.

Like several other major financial companies, Morgan Stanley was hurt by difficulties in trading during the volatile fourth quarter. While its traders are considered some of the best in the business, their stock trading revenue was flat over the last three months of the year, a period where the S&P 500 dropped 14 percent, and its bond trading revenue tumbled 30 percent. Morgan Stanley fell 4.4 percent to $42.53.

Signet Jewelers plunged 24.7 percent to $25.13 after it said its holiday season had been difficult and slashed its annual forecasts. The company said competition grew tougher in December and sales of some key products were weak. The company also said fewer customers came to its stores last month.

Big luxury retailers including department stores like Macy's have said they struggled over the holidays even though consumer confidence is high and pay for workers is rising. The stock market's steep losses in December appear to have made some consumers reluctant to splurge.

All 11 S&P 500 sectors finished higher, but internet and communications companies, household goods makers and utilities lagged the rest of the market. Netflix rose 0.5 percent to $353.19, but after the close of trading its stock fell 3.2 percent after its fourth-quarter revenue and its first-quarter revenue forecast both came up short of analysts' expecations.

Bond prices edged lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.75 percent from 2.73 percent.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 0.5 percent to $52.41 a barrel in New York, while Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 0.2 percent to $61.18 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline rose 1 percent to $1.43 a gallon and natural gas added 0.9 percent to $3.41 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil slid 0.5 percent to $1.88 a gallon.

Gold dipped 0.1 percent to $1,292.30 an ounce and silver lost 0.7 percent to $15.54 an ounce. Copper added 0.2 percent to $2.68 a pound.

The dollar rose to 109.23 yen from 108.92 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1390 from $1.1398. The British FTSE slipped 0.4 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.3 percent. Germany's DAX dipped 0.1 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.5 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 index edged 0.2 percent lower. South Korea's Kospi added 0.1 percent.
 
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