NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:

[bigdog]

A day of choppy trading on Wall Street ended Monday with stocks broadly lower as the market extended its losing streak into a fourth week.

Technology stocks, consumer goods makers, health care companies and banks accounted for much of the selling, which accelerated in the last hour of trading, erasing modest gains from midday. Communication services stocks eked out a slight gain, bucking the broader market slide. Crude oil prices edged lower and bond yields rose.

The market is coming off a three-week skid following a mostly discouraging batch of economic data that stoked investors' worries that a slowdown in U.S. economic growth could worsen.

The combination of uncertainty over the costly trade war between the U.S. and China, and the impeachment inquiry drama unfolding in Washington, is likely to continue to drag on the economy and weigh on markets, said Tony Roth, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust.

The S&P 500 fell 13.22 points, or 0.4%, at 2,938.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 95.70 points, or 0.4%, to 26,478.02. The Nasdaq dropped 26.18 points, or 0.3%, to 7,956.29.

Chinese markets are due to reopen on Tuesday after a week long break.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to rise 24 points or 0.4% at the open.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...es-mixed-on-us-jobs-eyes-on-china-trade-talks

Major US Stock Indexes Veer Broadly Lower in Choppy Trading
A day of choppy trading on Wall Street ended Monday with stocks broadly lower as the market extended its losing streak into a fourth week.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 7, 2019, at 4:43 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

A day of choppy trading on Wall Street ended Monday with stocks broadly lower as the market extended its losing streak into a fourth week.

Technology stocks, consumer goods makers, health care companies and banks accounted for much of the selling, which accelerated in the last hour of trading, erasing modest gains from midday. Communication services stocks eked out a slight gain, bucking the broader market slide. Crude oil prices edged lower and bond yields rose.

The market is coming off a three-week skid following a mostly discouraging batch of economic data that stoked investors' worries that a slowdown in U.S. economic growth could worsen.

The combination of uncertainty over the costly trade war between the U.S. and China, and the impeachment inquiry drama unfolding in Washington, is likely to continue to drag on the economy and weigh on markets, said Tony Roth, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust.

"And that's why the markets are treading water right now, waiting to see if another shoe drops," Roth said.

The S&P 500 fell 13.22 points, or 0.4%, at 2,938.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 95.70 points, or 0.4%, to 26,478.02. The Nasdaq dropped 26.18 points, or 0.3%, to 7,956.29.

Smaller-company stocks fared slightly better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index slipped 2.91 points, or 0.2%, to 1,497.79.

Bond prices fell, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.56% from 1.51% late Friday.

The benchmark S&P 500 index began the day lower, picked up some gains around midday and then veered back into the red by late afternoon.

The wobbly day in the market reflects the cautious approach that investors are taking as they try to gauge how the economy and corporate profits will fare amid the lingering trade war and political uncertainty in Washington.

Last week, the S&P 500 posted its first back-to-back losses of 1% this year as surprisingly weak numbers in surveys of manufacturing and service industries showed the U.S.-China trade war is threatening U.S. economic growth.

Some of those fears were allayed on Friday when a government jobs report showed that employers are still adding jobs at a healthy clip and that the national unemployment rate dropped to a five-decade low.

Still, last week marked the third weekly loss in a row for the broader market as the trade war takes its toll on confidence. Markets have been whipsawed for months by the ups and downs in the dispute.

"Labor has held up fairly OK, but we're definitely decelerating from an economic standpoint, so corporate earnings may reflect that negatively," Roth said. "The biggest drivers of the market are going to be who controls policy in Washington and what the specifics are around the Chinese trade situation."

Envoys from Washington and Beijing are scheduled to meet later this week in their latest bid to put an end to the dispute that is stunting global economic growth and spooking the stock market.

Broadcom led the slide in technology stocks Monday, dropping 1.9%.

Beverage companies fell amid a sell-off in consumer product makers. Constellation Brands slid 2.6% and PepsiCo fell 1.4%. Coca-Cola lost 1.2%.

Several big drugmakers helped pull health care sector stocks lower. Abbott Laboratories gave up 1.2% and Merck & Co. slid 0.7%.

Financial sector stocks also declined, giving up early gains. Progressive dropped 1.5%.

Discovery led the gains in the communication services sector. The stock rose 1.4%.

Fox inched up 0.1% after the company settled a dispute with Dish Network over carriage of Fox's local TV stations and cable sports networks. Dish pulled the broadcast network from 17 markets in September. Shares in Dish gained 0.2%.

ConocoPhillips climbed 2.1% after the energy company raised its quarterly dividend by 38% and will buy back $3 billion of its stock in 2020.

General Motors fell 0.5%. The stock has lost nearly 10% of its value since contract negotiations with the now striking United Auto Workers started to falter. The situation has taken another bad turn as negotiations hit a snag over product commitments for U.S. factories.

Workers were warned by United Auto Workers vice president Terry Dittes on September 6 that bargaining was moving slowly. They moved to picket lines on September 16, crippling the company's factories and accelerating stock losses.

Despite the labor issues, General Motor's stock is still up 3.8% for the year, though that is far behind competitor Ford's 13.7% annual gain.

Benchmark crude oil fell 6 cents to settle at $52.75 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, slipped 2 cents to close at $58.35 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline was unchanged at $1.57 per gallon. Heating oil climbed 1 cent to $1.90 per gallon. Natural gas fell 5 cents to $2.30 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $8.50 to $1,497.70 per ounce, silver fell 8 cents to $17.46 per ounce and copper rose 1 cent to $2.57 per pound.

The dollar rose to 107.28 Japanese yen from 106.87 yen on Friday. The euro weakened to $1.0973 from $1.0984.

Major stock indexes in Europe closed broadly higher. Stocks in Asia ended mixed. Chinese markets are due to reopen on Tuesday after a week long break.

 

[bigdog]

Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street Tuesday as tensions between the U.S. and China flared ahead of negotiations aimed at resolving the costly trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

The sell-off, which accelerated in the last hour of regular trading, knocked more than 300 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Technology companies, banks and health care stocks bore the brunt of the selling, which stretched the market's losses further into a fourth week.

The market slide began after the U.S. blacklisted a group of Chinese companies, claiming that their technology plays a role in the repression of China's Muslim minority groups. The State Department also imposed restrictions on visas for Chinese officials.

The moves cast more doubt on whether Washington and Beijing will find a resolution to their long-running and economically damaging trade conflict. Envoys from the U.S. and China are scheduled to meet in Washington on Thursday for another round of trade talks.

Technology stocks were among the biggest losers as chipmakers absorbed the impact of the latest U.S. restrictions on sales to Chinese tech companies that develop facial recognition and other artificial intelligence technology.

The S&P 500 index lost 45.73 points, or 1.6%, to 2,893.06. The Dow slid 313.98 points, or 1.2%, to 26,164.04. The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology companies, dropped 132.52 points, or 1.7%, to 7,823.78.

The S&P/ASX 200 index looks set to sink lower this morning following a bleak night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the benchmark index is expected to fall 64 points or 1% at the open.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...shares-rise-despite-worries-on-us-china-talks

Stocks Skid as Tensions Flare Ahead of US-China Trade Talks
Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street Tuesday as tensions between the U.S. and China flared ahead of talks aimed at resolving the trade war between the world's two biggest economies.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 8, 2019, at 4:50 p.m.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street Tuesday as tensions between the U.S. and China flared ahead of negotiations aimed at resolving the costly trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

The sell-off, which accelerated in the last hour of regular trading, knocked more than 300 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Technology companies, banks and health care stocks bore the brunt of the selling, which stretched the market's losses further into a fourth week.

The market slide began after the U.S. blacklisted a group of Chinese companies, claiming that their technology plays a role in the repression of China's Muslim minority groups. The State Department also imposed restrictions on visas for Chinese officials.

The moves cast more doubt on whether Washington and Beijing will find a resolution to their long-running and economically damaging trade conflict. Envoys from the U.S. and China are scheduled to meet in Washington on Thursday for another round of trade talks.

"The rhetoric on both sides, whether it's the U.S. putting certain Chinese technology companies on a blacklist, or China vowing to retaliate with a 'stay tuned', it just keeps upping the temperature in the room and creating greater uncertainty for businesses, for consumers and for investors," said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

The S&P 500 index lost 45.73 points, or 1.6%, to 2,893.06. The Dow slid 313.98 points, or 1.2%, to 26,164.04. The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology companies, dropped 132.52 points, or 1.7%, to 7,823.78.

Smaller company stocks were also big decliners, sending the Russell 2000 index down 25.19 points, or 1.7%, to 1,472.60.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.53% from 1.55% late Monday, a signal that investors favored lower-risk investments amid the trade war turmoil. Utilities and real estate companies, both safe-play sectors, held up better than the rest of the market, though they also ended the day in the red.

The latest escalation in U.S.-China tensions adds yet another worry for investors already anxious over a bevy of political and economic concerns. Last week, the S&P 500 posted its first back-to-back losses of 1% this year as surprisingly weak numbers in surveys of manufacturing and service industries showed the U.S.-China trade war is threatening U.S. economic growth.

The Trump administration's moves to blacklist select Chinese companies and restrict visas on certain officials dampened investors' hopes that the negotiations this week will yield progress.

"The jockeying for position in front of the Thursday and Friday meetings in Washington has intensified perhaps more than the market could have imagined," said Julian Emanuel, chief equity and derivatives strategist at BTIG.

Technology stocks were among the biggest losers as chipmakers absorbed the impact of the latest U.S. restrictions on sales to Chinese tech companies that develop facial recognition and other artificial intelligence technology. Ambarella tumbled 9.5% and Nvidia fell 3.9%.

The sector has shouldered much of the volatility from swings in trade war sentiment because many of the companies face bigger risks to sales and supply chains.

Several medical device makers knocked down health care stocks. Thermo Fisher fell 6% and Boston Scientific slid 6.1%. Banks also dropped as bond yields fell. Bank of America lost 2.4%.

Benchmark crude oil fell 12 cents to settle at $52.63 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, slid 11 cents to close at $58.24 a barrel.

While the price of U.S. crude is up just under 9% so far this year, it remains off by more than 27% from a year ago. That slide in prices over the past 12 months has weighed on energy stocks this year.

Energy is the biggest loser among the S&P 500's 11 sectors. It's down 2.8% for the year and 27.8% over the past 12 months. It's also the worst-performing sector so far this month.

The stocks are likely to get hammered again when energy companies report their third-quarter results later this month. The sector is expected to report a nearly 10% drop in revenue for the third quarter due to a 19% decline in crude oil prices from a year ago, according to Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Golub.

The analyst expects the sector to reduce earnings growth for the S&P 500 by 1.9% for the third quarter.

Wwholesale gasoline rose a penny to $1.58 per gallon. Heating oil added 1 cent to $1.91 per gallon. Natural gas fell 2 cents to $2.29 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold slipped 50 cents to $1,503.90 per ounce, silver rose 16 cents to $17.70 per ounce and copper was little changed at $2.57 per pound.

The dollar fell to 107.14 Japanese yen from 107.28 yen on Monday. The euro weakened to $1.0954 from $1.0973.

Major stock indexes in Europe finished broadly lower after the British government warned that chances of a separation deal with the European Union are fading.

 

[bigdog]

Stocks notched broad gains Wednesday on Wall Street as investors regained some of their optimism about the prospects for progress in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

A day after escalating trade tensions led to a sharp sell-off, investors drew encouragement from reports that Beijing signaled it is open to a partial deal. Washington and Beijing are scheduled to begin a 13th round of trade negotiations on Thursday.

Technology stocks led the rally, which erased some of the market's sharp losses from the day before and snapped a two-day losing streak for the S&P 500. The benchmark index is still on track to end the week with a 1.1% loss.

The major U.S. stock indexes rebounded from the get-go on Wednesday as traders turned more hopeful about the upcoming U.S.-China trade negotiations.

The S&P 500 rose 26.34 points, or 0.9%, to 2,919.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 181.97 points, or 0.7%, to 26,346.01. The Nasdaq picked up 79.96 points, or 1%, to 7,903.74. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks added 6.86 points, or 0.5%, to 1,479.46.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open 43 points or 0.65% higher this morning.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...-slip-as-tensions-flare-before-us-china-talks

US Stocks Notch Broad Gains Amid Renewed Trade Deal Hopes
Stocks notched broad gains on Wall Street Wednesday as investors regained some of their optimism about the prospects for progress in the trade war between the U.S. and China.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 9, 2019, at 4:48 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Stocks notched broad gains Wednesday on Wall Street as investors regained some of their optimism about the prospects for progress in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

A day after escalating trade tensions led to a sharp sell-off, investors drew encouragement from reports that Beijing signaled it is open to a partial deal. Washington and Beijing are scheduled to begin a 13th round of trade negotiations on Thursday.

Technology stocks led the rally, which erased some of the market's sharp losses from the day before and snapped a two-day losing streak for the S&P 500. The benchmark index is still on track to end the week with a 1.1% loss.

"Whichever way the trade winds tend to be blowing is the way the market tends to direct itself," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist, CFRA. "Yesterday it was a worry that we would not really have any kind of success coming out of the upcoming trade talks. Now it sounds as if China would be willing to engage in some piecemeal accords."

The S&P 500 rose 26.34 points, or 0.9%, to 2,919.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 181.97 points, or 0.7%, to 26,346.01. The Nasdaq picked up 79.96 points, or 1%, to 7,903.74. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks added 6.86 points, or 0.5%, to 1,479.46.

Bond yields rose, reflecting the move by investors to shift into higher-risk assets. The yield on the 10-year Treasury increased to 1.58% from 1.53% late Tuesday.

The major U.S. stock indexes rebounded from the get-go on Wednesday as traders turned more hopeful about the upcoming U.S.-China trade negotiations.

Washington and Beijing had held off from further escalating the conflict up until this week, when the U.S. blacklisted a group of Chinese technology companies over alleged human rights violations. The prospect of China being more open to a partial deal on trade helped allay investors' concerns Wednesday.

The trade war between the U.S. and China has dragged on for 15 months, inflicting economic damage on both countries. The two sides have raised import duties on billions of dollars of each other's goods, fueling fears their dispute might tip the global economy into recession.

All told, the Trump administration has imposed tariffs on more than $360 billion worth of Chinese goods and plans to tax an additional $160 billion of imports on Dec. 15. This would extend U.S. tariffs to just about everything China ships to the United States. China has counterpunched by taxing $120 billion in U.S. exports, notably soybeans and other farm goods.

Investors are hoping for some type of resolution as the 13th round of trade talks resume Thursday in Washington.

"Our base case, to which we assign a 50% probability, is for only modest progress in this round of talks," said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management. "Modest progress averts further escalation while failing to resolve conflicts over intellectual property and subsidies."

The sharp shifts in trade war rhetoric and actions have made for an extremely volatile market over the last few months. Despite the gains Wednesday, stocks are still on track for their fourth weekly loss in a row as uncertainty hangs over the markets.

Technology sector stocks led the gains Wednesday. The sector has been suffering most of the week because of uncertainty over the talks. Many of the companies rely on China for revenue and their supply chains. Microsoft rose 1.9% and Apple added 1.2%.

The health care sector also helped lift the market, along with energy stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending. Real estate companies and utilities lagged the market in a sign that investors were less interested in safe-play sectors.

Johnson & Johnson was among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500 after the health care company was ordered to pay $8 billion in punitive damages by a Philadelphia jury in a case involving the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. The stock lost 2.6%.

Next week, companies begin reporting their results for the third quarter. Expectations are generally low again, with analysts forecasting a drop of 4.1% from a year ago. The results, plus what CEOs say about their spending and revenue forecasts, should give a better picture of the economy's potential direction.

Benchmark crude oil fell 4 cents to settle at $52.59 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 8 cents to close at $58.32 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 1 cent to $1.59 per gallon. Heating oil climbed 1 cent to $1.92 per gallon. Natural gas fell 6 cents to $2.23 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $8.90 to $1,506.10 per ounce, silver rose 3 cents to $17.73 per ounce and copper fell 1 cent to $2.56 per pound.

The dollar rose to 107.55 Japanese yen from 107.14 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.0974 from $1.0954.

Major stock indexes in Europe closed broadly higher. Stocks in Asia finished mixed.

 

[bigdog]

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street for the second straight day Thursday as the U.S. and China kicked off a new round of negotiations in their long-running trade war.

Technology companies and banks led the rally as investors turned hopeful that the 13th round of trade talks will bring both sides closer to ending the costly conflict between the world's two biggest economies.

Traders were encouraged after President Donald Trump said he would meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is leading Beijing's negotiating team, at the White House on Friday. He also said China wants to make a deal.

"It's really good that Trump is meeting him, because that increases the odds that some type of positive news may happen tomorrow," said Brad Bernstein, senior portfolio manager at UBS Global Wealth Management.

The S&P 500 rose 18.73 points, or 0.6%, to 2,938.13. The benchmark index had been up about 1% earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 150.66 points, or 0.6%, to 26,496.67. It had been up as much as 257 points.

The Nasdaq added 47.04 points, or 0.6%, to 7,950.78. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 5.90 points, or 0.4%, to 1,485.36.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 0.65% or 42 points higher this morning.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...s-mostly-higher-amid-renewed-trade-deal-hopes

Stocks Climb for 2nd Straight Day on US-China Trade Optimism
Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street for the second straight day Thursday as the U.S. and China kicked off a new round of negotiations in their long-running trade war.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 10, 2019, at 4:43 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street for the second straight day Thursday as the U.S. and China kicked off a new round of negotiations in their long-running trade war.

Technology companies and banks led the rally as investors turned hopeful that the 13th round of trade talks will bring both sides closer to ending the costly conflict between the world's two biggest economies.

Traders were encouraged after President Donald Trump said he would meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is leading Beijing's negotiating team, at the White House on Friday. He also said China wants to make a deal.

"It's really good that Trump is meeting him, because that increases the odds that some type of positive news may happen tomorrow," said Brad Bernstein, senior portfolio manager at UBS Global Wealth Management.

The S&P 500 rose 18.73 points, or 0.6%, to 2,938.13. The benchmark index had been up about 1% earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 150.66 points, or 0.6%, to 26,496.67. It had been up as much as 257 points.

The Nasdaq added 47.04 points, or 0.6%, to 7,950.78. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 5.90 points, or 0.4%, to 1,485.36.

Major indexes in Europe closed broadly higher. Asian markets finished mixed.

Thursday's rally extended the S&P 500's gains from the day before, though the index remains on track for its fourth-straight weekly loss.

Markets have been jittery this week as investors assessed the potential for a breakthrough in the trade talks even as tensions escalated between Washington and Beijing. The U.S. blacklisted a group of Chinese technology companies over alleged human rights violations earlier this week. Meanwhile, China has clashed with the NBA and U.S. companies over free-speech issues.

The trade war has dragged on for 15 months, inflicting economic damage on both countries and raising fears of a global recession.

The Trump administration has slapped tariffs on more than $360 billion worth of Chinese imports. Tariffs on $250 billion worth of goods are set to increase to 30% from 25% on Oct. 15, and new tariffs will kick in on another $160 billion on Dec. 15. That would extend import taxes to virtually everything China ships to the United States. China has hit back by targeting about $120 billion in U.S. goods, focusing on farm products.

While representatives of both countries have failed to make progress in resolving the trade conflict, there is more pressure this time for them to reach some type of agreement, even if it's merely to keep additional tariffs from kicking in, Bernstein said.

"The stakes are higher now than they've been in most, if not all, of the recent negotiations, because there are tariffs that are scheduled to increase in five days on China, which will directly impact you and me, and the economy and the world," he said.

Thursday's gains helped the S&P 500 cut its losses after a volatile week of trading. The index is now down 0.5% for the week. On Wednesday it had been on track for 1.1% weekly loss.

Despite also recovering some lost ground, the Dow and Nasdaq are still on track to finish the week in the red.

Technology stocks helped lift the market Thursday. The sector is particularly sensitive to any news coming out of trade negotiations because many of the companies rely on China for sales growth and supply chains. Apple gained 1.3%. Chipmakers also rose. Intel added 1.2% and Nvidia picked up 1.3%.

Several big banks notched solid gains, including Bank of America, which climbed 2%. Banks benefited from rising bond yields, which allow banks to charge higher interest rates on loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.67% from 1.58% late Wednesday, a big move.

Energy companies got a boost from a 1.8% increase in crude oil prices. Chevron rose 1.3%.

Safe-play sectors like real estate and utilities lagged the market.

Bed Bath & Beyond surged 21.6% after the struggling home goods chain named Target's former chief merchandising officer to be its new CEO and president. Mark Tritton, a 30-year-retail industry veteran, will assume the top role on Nov. 4 and succeed interim CEO Mary A. Winston.

Delta Air Lines fell 1.5% after the company gave investors a weak profit forecast for the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter is among the busiest for U.S. airlines because of holiday travelers. The dim outlook didn't weigh on other major airlines. JetBlue airways added 0.9% and United Airlines rose 1%.

Benchmark crude oil rose 96 cents to settle at $53.55 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained 78 cents to close at $59.10 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 3 cents to $1.62 per gallon. Heating oil was unchanged at $1.92 per gallon. Natural gas fell 1 cent to $2.22 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $11.30 to $1.494.80 per ounce, silver fell 21 cents to $17.52 per ounce and copper rose 5 cents to $2.61 per pound.

The dollar rose to 107.91 Japanese yen from 107.55 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1006 from $1.0974.

 

[bigdog]

The S&P 500 finished with its first weekly gain in four weeks Friday as investors welcomed a thaw in the punishing trade war between the U.S. and China.

After two days of negotiations in Washington, the U.S. agreed to suspend a planned hike in tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods that had been set to kick in Tuesday. Beijing, meanwhile, agreed to buy $40 billion to $50 billion in U.S. farm products.

Word of the trade concessions filtered out in the last half-hour of trading and pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average 517 points higher, though the momentum faded near the close.

"The market is welcoming any progress here, because (trade) has been the biggest overhang on growth," said Ben Phillips, chief investment officer at EventShares. "Any sort of deal, even if it's a super light, mini-deal, still gets the market constructive and saying, 'OK, we're moving in the right direction.'"

The S&P 500 index closed higher for the third-straight day, adding 32.14 points, or 1.1%, to 2,970.27. Earlier it had been up 1.9%. The Dow rose 319.92 points, or 1.2%, to 26,816.59.

The Nasdaq gained 106.26 points, or 1.3%, to 8,057.04. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks outpaced the broader market, climbing 26.54, or 1.8%, to 1,511.90. The indexes all notched gains for the week.

Chart DOW vs AORD

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...s-follow-wall-street-higher-on-trade-optimism

Stocks Rise on Trade Progress, S&P 500 Notches Weekly Gain
The S&P 500 finished with its first weekly gain in four weeks Friday as investors welcomed a thaw in the punishing trade war between the U.S. and China.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 11, 2019, at 5:19 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA and STAN CHOE, AP Business Writers

The S&P 500 finished with its first weekly gain in four weeks Friday as investors welcomed a thaw in the punishing trade war between the U.S. and China.

After two days of negotiations in Washington, the U.S. agreed to suspend a planned hike in tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods that had been set to kick in Tuesday. Beijing, meanwhile, agreed to buy $40 billion to $50 billion in U.S. farm products.

Word of the trade concessions filtered out in the last half-hour of trading and pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average 517 points higher, though the momentum faded near the close.

"The market is welcoming any progress here, because (trade) has been the biggest overhang on growth," said Ben Phillips, chief investment officer at EventShares. "Any sort of deal, even if it's a super light, mini-deal, still gets the market constructive and saying, 'OK, we're moving in the right direction.'"

The S&P 500 index closed higher for the third-straight day, adding 32.14 points, or 1.1%, to 2,970.27. Earlier it had been up 1.9%. The Dow rose 319.92 points, or 1.2%, to 26,816.59.

The Nasdaq gained 106.26 points, or 1.3%, to 8,057.04. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks outpaced the broader market, climbing 26.54, or 1.8%, to 1,511.90. The indexes all notched gains for the week.

Treasury yields rose as investors felt less need for safety and dumped bonds. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, a benchmark for mortgages and many other kinds of loans, jumped to 1.73% from 1.65% late Thursday.

The rally got going early, reflecting optimism among investors that Washington and Beijing would reach at least a limited deal on trade. The U.S.-China trade dispute has been a drag on economic growth and slowed manufacturing around the world.

Investors got encouragement from President Donald Trump, who said "Good things are happening," before meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He for trade talks at the White House.

Later in the day, after emerging from the meeting to announce the partial trade deal, Trump told the Chinese delegation "You're very tough negotiators."

The White House said the two sides made some progress on the thornier issues, including China's lax protection of foreign intellectual property. But more progress will have to be made on key differences in later negotiations, including U.S. allegations that China forces foreign countries to hand over trade secrets in return for access to the Chinese market.

Markets around the world have swung sharply on every morsel of progress or dissonance dribbling out about the U.S.-China trade war.

The concessions agreed upon by the U.S. and China Friday mark a sharp turnaround after expectations were lowered earlier in the week when the U.S. blacklisted a group of Chinese technology companies over alleged human rights violations.

The Trump administration has already raised tariffs on more than $360 billion worth of Chinese imports, but the stakes were set to rise. The U.S. had planned to raise tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports from 25% to 30% Tuesday. Those are now suspended. But the two sides did not mention tariffs on $160 billion of goods scheduled for Dec. 15.

Technology stocks, which often do lots of business with China, helped power the indexes higher Friday. Apple climbed 2.7%, and edged ahead of Microsoft as the most valuable company in the S&P 500. Broadcom added 2.4%.

Industrial stocks also notched solid gains. Caterpillar climbed 4.7% and farm equipment maker Deere gain 1.9%.

The jump in bond yields helped send bank stocks higher on expectations of bigger profits for making loans. JPMorgan Chase rose 1.7%, and Bank of America gained 1.6%.

Stocks jumped across Europe on hopes that the United Kingdom and European Union can reach a trade deal ahead of London's pending exit from the bloc. The German DAX surged 2.9%, while the CAC 40 in France jumped 1.7%. The FTSE 100 in London rose 0.8%, held back in part by a stronger British pound, which adds pressure on British exporters.

A missile strike on an Iranian tanker revived concerns about oil supplies and pushed energy prices higher. The explosion follows other attacks earlier this year on tankers in the Persian Gulf, through which about 20% of all oil traded worldwide passes.

Benchmark crude oil rose $1.15 to settle at $54.70 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained $1.41 to close at $60.51 a barrel. The rise in energy prices lifted oil and energy services companies. Exxon rose 1.1% and Schlumberger climbed 4.5%.

Fastenal surged 17.2% after the maker of fasteners and other industrial products reported surprisingly good first quarter profit and revenue. The company reported solid growth from its industrial vending and onsite services businesses.

Newmont Goldcorp was among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500 after gold prices fell $12.10, or 0.8%, to $1,482.70 per ounce, as investors shifted to more risky holdings. Newmont shares slid 3.4%.

Investors will be focusing on the health of Corporate America next week as companies begin reporting their results for the third quarter. Expectations are generally low, with analysts forecasting a drop of 4.1% from a year ago. The results, plus what CEOs say about their spending and revenue forecasts, should give a better picture of the economy's potential direction.

"You're going to see a little soft earnings (results) this quarter, is our expectation, largely on the manufacturing and global companies, but also a little softness on services," Phillips said.

In other commodities trading Friday, wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.64 per gallon. Heating oil climbed 4 cents to $1.96 per gallon. Natural gas fell 1 cent to $2.21 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Silver fell 6 cents to $17.46 per ounce and copper rose 1 cent to $2.62 per pound.

The dollar rose to 108.52 Japanese yen from 107.91 yen on Thursday. The euro strengthened to $1.1041 from $1.1006.

7470

 

[bigdog]

Stocks capped a wobbly day of trading on Wall Street with modest losses Monday, a shaky start to the week for the market after its first weekly gain in a month.

Losses in consumer goods makers, utilities and technology stocks helped outweigh gains in banks and real estate companies. A 2% drop in crude oil prices also hurt energy stocks.

Trading was choppy for much of the day after falling in the early going. The muted trading wiped out some of the gains from a rally on Friday, when investors welcomed signs of progress in the latest round of trade negotiations between the U.S. and China.

Washington and Beijing agreed to a truce, with the U.S. holding off on tariffs set to kick in this week and China agreeing to buy more farm goods. But the U.S. has yet to cancel plans for more tariffs in December and the nations still have several complicated issues to negotiate, which may have dimmed some of the optimism about a broader trade deal.

The S&P 500 index slipped 4.12 points, or 0.1%, to 2,966.15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 29.23 points, or 0.1%, to 26,787.36. The Nasdaq gave up 8.39 points, or 0.1%, to 8,048.65.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to fall 21 points or 0.3% at the open.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...gain-after-us-china-announce-truce-on-tariffs

Stocks Close Slightly Lower After Choppy Day on Wall Street
Stocks capped a wobbly day of trading on Wall Street with modest losses Monday, a shaky start to the week for the market after its first weekly gain in a month.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 14, 2019, at 4:58 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Stocks capped a wobbly day of trading on Wall Street with modest losses Monday, a shaky start to the week for the market after its first weekly gain in a month.

Losses in consumer goods makers, utilities and technology stocks helped outweigh gains in banks and real estate companies. A 2% drop in crude oil prices also hurt energy stocks.

Trading was choppy for much of the day after falling in the early going. The muted trading wiped out some of the gains from a rally on Friday, when investors welcomed signs of progress in the latest round of trade negotiations between the U.S. and China.

Washington and Beijing agreed to a truce, with the U.S. holding off on tariffs set to kick in this week and China agreeing to buy more farm goods. But the U.S. has yet to cancel plans for more tariffs in December and the nations still have several complicated issues to negotiate, which may have dimmed some of the optimism about a broader trade deal.

"We kind of peeled back the layers and said, 'Hey, was this really a significant trade deal, or was it just a little bit of window dressing to make everybody feel like there was actually a trade deal?'" said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior markets strategist at Voya Investment Management. "The market is digesting that."

The S&P 500 index slipped 4.12 points, or 0.1%, to 2,966.15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 29.23 points, or 0.1%, to 26,787.36. The Nasdaq gave up 8.39 points, or 0.1%, to 8,048.65.

Small-company stocks did worse than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index lost 6.47 points, or 0.4%, to 1,505.43.

Bond markets and the U.S. government were closed for the Columbus Day holiday.

Stocks opened broadly lower Monday, but trading soon turned choppy, leaving the market veering between small gains and losses the rest of the day.

The modest pullback followed last week's market rally, when investors applauded the progress made by the U.S. and China following two days of negotiations.

The U.S. agreed to suspend a planned hike in tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods that had been set to kick in Tuesday. Beijing, meanwhile, agreed to buy $40 billion to $50 billion in U.S. farm products.

The truce was a result of the 13th round of negotiations between the nations since the trade war began well over a year ago.

But the key sticking points of intellectual property and trade secrets still hang over the dispute. And the overall picture hasn't changed for companies, which are still holding off on forecasts and investments because of the uncertain trade situation.

"There is not yet a viable path to existing tariffs declining and tariff escalation remains a meaningful risk," Michael D. Zezas, a Morgan Stanley strategist, wrote in a note to clients. "Thus, we do not expect a meaningful rebound in corporate behavior that would drive global growth expectations higher."

In a research note sizing up Friday's partial trade deal announcement, J.P.Morgan analysts noted that while the talks have delivered a tentative truce between the two nations, the gap between that truce and peace "could be large, and U.S.-China tension could escalate again, especially into the election period."

Benchmark crude oil fell $1.11 to settle at $53.59 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, dropped $1.16 to close at $59.35 a barrel.

Investors are looking ahead to the start of the third-quarter earnings season, with companies beginning to report results over the next few weeks.

Several major banks are due to issue their latest quarterly financial results this week. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will all report results on Tuesday. Bank of America and PNC Financial will report results on Wednesday.

Investors will be watching for information on income from loans as banks contend with sinking bond yields. Falling yields force banks to set lower rates on mortgages and other kinds of loans.

Expectations for S&P 500 companies' third-quarter results are generally low, with analysts forecasting a drop of 4.2% from a year ago. The results, plus what CEOs say about their spending and revenue forecasts, should give a better picture of the economy's potential direction.

"The market is a little bit nervous about earnings because there are some estimates out there that say there's going to be negative growth," Cavanaugh said, noting she expects overall earnings for the July-September quarter to show growth from a year ago.

Wholesale gasoline fell 3 cents to $1.61 per gallon on Monday. Heating oil declined 4 cents to $1.92 per gallon. Natural gas rose 7 cents to $2.28 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $9.00 to $1,491.70 per ounce, silver rose 17 cents to $17.63 per ounce and copper was unchanged at $2.62 per pound.

The dollar fell to 108.37 Japanese yen from 108.52 yen on Friday. The euro weakened to $1.1031 from $1.1041.

European markets closed lower.

 

[bigdog]

Stocks notched solid gains on Wall Street Tuesday as investors welcomed surprisingly good quarterly results from some of the nation's biggest companies.

Strong earnings from UnitedHealth Group, JPMorgan Chase and other companies helped power the market's broad gains, erasing modest losses from a day earlier.

Investors are looking to the wave of quarterly report cards due out over the next few weeks to give them a clearer picture of what impact the trade war between the U.S. and China is having on corporate profits and the broader economy.

The encouraging earnings reports came with a spate of surprisingly good forecasts for the rest of the year, which helped ease concerns about a slowdown due to the costly trade conflict.

The S&P 500 index climbed 29.53 points, or 1%, to 2,995.68. The benchmark index is now 1% below its all-time high set in July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 237.44 points, or 0.9%, to 27,024.80. The Nasdaq gained 100.06 points, or 1.2%, to 8,148.71.

The S&P/ASX 200 index looks set to storm higher on Wednesday following a positive night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to rise 58 points or 0.85% at the open

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ed-as-optimism-over-china-us-trade-deal-fades

Solid Company Earnings Power Broad Rally for US Stocks
Stocks notched solid gains on Wall Street Tuesday as investors welcomed surprisingly good quarterly results from some of the nation's biggest companies.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 15, 2019, at 4:32 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA and DAMIAN J. TROISE, AP Business Writers

Stocks notched solid gains on Wall Street Tuesday as investors welcomed surprisingly good quarterly results from some of the nation's biggest companies.

Strong earnings from UnitedHealth Group, JPMorgan Chase and other companies helped power the market's broad gains, erasing modest losses from a day earlier.

Investors are looking to the wave of quarterly report cards due out over the next few weeks to give them a clearer picture of what impact the trade war between the U.S. and China is having on corporate profits and the broader economy.

The encouraging earnings reports came with a spate of surprisingly good forecasts for the rest of the year, which helped ease concerns about a slowdown due to the costly trade conflict.

"That was what everybody was afraid of," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist for TD Ameritrade. "Instead, we got 'no, the future looks good.'"

The S&P 500 index climbed 29.53 points, or 1%, to 2,995.68. The benchmark index is now 1% below its all-time high set in July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 237.44 points, or 0.9%, to 27,024.80. The Nasdaq gained 100.06 points, or 1.2%, to 8,148.71. Small-company stocks also bounced back after leading the decline a day earlier. The Russell 2000 index picked up 17.87 points, or 1.2%, to 1,523.30.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.77% from 1.75% late Friday. Bond markets were closed Monday for Columbus Day.

Technology, health care, financial and communication services stocks drove much of Tuesday's broad rally, which gave the market its fourth gain in five days. Utilities and makers of consumer goods fell as investors regained an appetite for more risk. The sectors are considered safe-play holdings and usually lag the market when investors are more confident.

The latest batch of company earnings reports gave investors a confidence boost that, for the moment, sidelined concerns about whether Washington and Beijing will be able to work out a trade deal.

On Friday, the U.S. agreed to suspend a planned hike in tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods that had been set to kick in Tuesday. Beijing, meanwhile, agreed to buy $40 billion to $50 billion in U.S. farm products.

The U.S. did not, however, cancel plans for more tariffs in December and the sticking points of intellectual property and trade secrets still hang over the dispute.

"There really isn't any pen to paper, it's just people talking and nothing definite," Kinahan said. "The earnings are definite."

UnitedHealth Group jumped 8.2%, leading all S&P 500 stocks, after the company hiked its 2019 profit forecast following third-quarter results that beat Wall Street's expectations.

Traders also bid up shares in other health insurers. Anthem gained 6%, Cigna added 5.7% and Humana rose 4.8%.

Johnson & Johnson gained 1.6% after it raised its profit forecast for the year following solid third quarter results.

JPMorgan Chase rose 3% after the bank beat Wall Street's third quarter profit forecasts. Citigroup also delivered solid results, lifting its shares 1.4%.

Other major banks, including Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo reported mixed results, but their shares still rose. Goldman Sachs added 0.3%, while Wells Fargo gained 1.7%.

Investors have been worried that corporate profits could be hampered by the U.S. trade disputes with China and growing economic uncertainty. Corporate earnings are expected to contract by nearly 5% during the third quarter, according to FactSet.

That forecast could soften as more companies report results for the third quarter. Similar forecasts were made ahead of both the first and second quarter reporting periods and companies in the S&P 500 managed to deliver only a modest contraction each time.

Investors are in for a busy few days for corporate earnings, including Bank of America, railroad giant CSX, Netflix and IBM on Wednesday.

Benchmark crude oil fell 78 cents to settle at $52.81 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, dropped 61 cents to close at $58.74 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline was unchanged at $1.61 per gallon. Heating oil declined 1 cent to $1.91 per gallon. Natural gas rose 6 cents to $2.34 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $14.10 to $1,477.60 per ounce, silver fell 32 cents to $17.31 per ounce and copper fell 2 cents to $2.60 per pound.

The dollar rose to 108.84 Japanese yen from 108.37 yen on Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1035 from $1.1031.

Major stock indexes in Europe closed mostly higher.

 

[bigdog]

A day of mostly listless trading on Wall Street ended Wednesday with modest losses as the stock market gave back some of its gains from the day before.

Technology stocks accounted for most of the selling, which lost some of its momentum toward the end of the day. Energy companies also fell. Financial sector stocks declined as bond yields, which are used to set interest rates on loans, headed lower.

The modest losses came as investors weighed mixed data on the economy and the latest batch of corporate earnings reports.

A move on Tuesday by the House of Representatives to show support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong appeared to dim some investor optimism about the prospects for progress in the latest trade talks between the U.S. and China.

The S&P 500 index lost 5.99 points, or 0.2%, to 2,989.69. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 22.82 points, or 0.1%, to 27,001.98. The Nasdaq fell 24.52 points, or 0.3%, to 8,124.18. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks eked out a tiny gain, adding 1.76 points, or 0.1%, at 1,525.06.

The S&P/ASX 200 index looks set to slide lower following a soft night of trade on global markets. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to drop 0.1% or 8 points at the open.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...rise-after-wall-street-gain-on-solid-earnings

Technology Companies Lead Modest Slide for US Stock Indexes
A day of mostly listless trading on Wall Street ended Wednesday with modest losses as the stock market gave back some of its gains from the day before.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 16, 2019, at 4:57 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

A day of mostly listless trading on Wall Street ended Wednesday with modest losses as the stock market gave back some of its gains from the day before.

Technology stocks accounted for most of the selling, which lost some of its momentum toward the end of the day. Energy companies also fell. Financial sector stocks declined as bond yields, which are used to set interest rates on loans, headed lower.

The modest losses came as investors weighed mixed data on the economy and the latest batch of corporate earnings reports.

A move on Tuesday by the House of Representatives to show support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong appeared to dim some investor optimism about the prospects for progress in the latest trade talks between the U.S. and China.

"We're in the height of earnings season and the results that we got last night, as well as this morning, I would characterize as better-than-feared," said Cayman Wills, global head of equities at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. "On the other side of the pendulum, you have this development on U.S.-China trade relations and the pro-democracy position that Congress took skews slightly negative."

The S&P 500 index lost 5.99 points, or 0.2%, to 2,989.69. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 22.82 points, or 0.1%, to 27,001.98. The Nasdaq fell 24.52 points, or 0.3%, to 8,124.18. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks eked out a tiny gain, adding 1.76 points, or 0.1%, at 1,525.06.

Advancers outweighed decliners on the New York Stock Exchange. The benchmark S&P 500 index remains 1.2% below its all-time high set in July.

Stocks got off to a downbeat start Wednesday as investors sized up a mixed batch of economic data and company earnings reports.

The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales fell in September by the largest amount in seven months. That stoked worries that consumers are pulling back on spending.

A slowdown in retail sales is concerning because consumer spending is a key growth driver for the U.S. economy, which has slowed this year as the costly trade war between the U.S. and China has escalated.

On Friday, the U.S. agreed to suspend a planned hike in tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods that had been set to kick in Tuesday. Beijing, meanwhile, agreed to buy $40 billion to $50 billion in U.S. farm products.

While both sides still have many issues to work out, the conciliatory steps announced on Friday suggested the trade talks were making some progress. The three bills passed in the House on Tuesday in support of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong gave investors a new reason to be less optimistic.

Investors are worried the action by the House could blunt the recent positive momentum in the trade negotiation, Wills said. "It might take it a step back."

Stocks are on track to notch gains this week, in part because investors have mostly set aside concerns over the trade negotiations in favor of focusing on corporate earnings for the third quarter. Stocks rallied on Tuesday following surprisingly good earnings and hopeful forecasts.

Even so, company earnings for the third quarter are expected to be down by nearly 5%, according to FactSet.

Traders bid up shares in United Airlines 2.1% and Bank of America 1.5% Wednesday after the companies turned in third-quarter results that topped Wall Street's forecasts.

A mixed third-quarter report card weighed on insurer Progressive, which dropped 2.8%.

Microsoft and Adobe were among the big decliners in the technology sector. Microsoft slid 0.8% and Adobe slid 2.4%.

Companies that rely on consumer spending led the gainers. Retailer Advance Auto Parts picked up 1.9%.

Homebuilders marched broadly higher after an industry survey showed builders' confidence increased to the highest level since February 2018. Beazer Homes USA gained 3.6%.

General Motors rose 1.1% after the auto company and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative deal.

A potential settlement in the opioid epidemic involving some of the nation's largest drug distributors helped lift their shares. McKesson rose 4.8%, AmerisourceBergen climbed 3.4% and Cardinal Health added 2.4%.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.75% from 1.77% late Tuesday.

Benchmark crude oil rose 55 cents to settle at $53.36 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained 68 cents to close at $59.42 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 1 cent to $1.62 per gallon. Heating oil climbed 3 cents to $1.94 per gallon. Natural gas fell 4 cents to $2.30 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $10.40 to $1,488.00 per ounce, silver rose 4 cents to $17.35 per ounce and copper fell 2 cents to $2.58 per pound.

The dollar fell to 108.77 Japanese yen from 108.84 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1072 from $1.1035.

Major stock indexes in Europe closed mostly lower.

 

[bigdog]

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Thursday as investors welcomed another batch of encouraging quarterly results from big companies.

A breakthrough in negotiations over Britain’s exit from the European Union also helped put traders in a buying mood.

The gains erased the market’s modest losses from the day before. Despite a choppy week of trading, the benchmark S&P 500 index is on track for its second straight weekly gain.

Health care, communication services and industrial stocks drove much of the market’s gains. Technology was the only laggard. Smaller-company stocks outdid the rest of the market.

Investors have shifted their focus this week to the latest round of corporate earnings after weeks of turbulence on Wall Street as the market reacted to developments in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

The S&P 500 index gained 8.26 points, or 0.3%, to 2,997.95. The index is within 0.1% of its all-time high set in July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly slipped into the red, but managed to add 23.90 points, or 0.1, to 27,025.88. The Nasdaq rose 32.67 points, or 0.4%, to 8,156.85.

The S&P/ASX 200 index looks set to end the week on a disappointing note despite a positive night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to drop 17 points or 0.25% at the open

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...res-mixed-on-caution-over-china-us-trade-deal

After Some Wobbling, Stocks Close Higher on Solid Earnings
Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Thursday as investors welcomed another batch of encouraging quarterly results from big companies.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 17, 2019, at 5:04 p.m.

After some wobbling, stocks close higher on solid earnings
By ALEX VEIGA -
10/17/19 5:05 PM

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Thursday as investors welcomed another batch of encouraging quarterly results from big companies.

A breakthrough in negotiations over Britain’s exit from the European Union also helped put traders in a buying mood.

The gains erased the market’s modest losses from the day before. Despite a choppy week of trading, the benchmark S&P 500 index is on track for its second straight weekly gain.

Health care, communication services and industrial stocks drove much of the market’s gains. Technology was the only laggard. Smaller-company stocks outdid the rest of the market.

Investors have shifted their focus this week to the latest round of corporate earnings after weeks of turbulence on Wall Street as the market reacted to developments in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

Several companies have turned in surprisingly good third-quarter results and outlooks. That’s helped to ease some investors’ concerns over the economy, though red flags remain over the trade war.

“About 76% of those that have reported have beat on earnings,” said Adam Taback, deputy chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank.

The forecasts from companies haven’t been as negative as many expected, Taback said, but many have raised concerns about “slowing global growth and risk of trade wars.”

The S&P 500 index gained 8.26 points, or 0.3%, to 2,997.95. The index is within 0.1% of its all-time high set in July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly slipped into the red, but managed to add 23.90 points, or 0.1, to 27,025.88. The Nasdaq rose 32.67 points, or 0.4%, to 8,156.85.

Traders favored smaller-company stocks. The Russell 2000 index climbed 16.79, or 1.1%, to 1,541.84.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.75% from 1.74% late Wednesday.

The market climbed in the early going as investors reviewed the latest batch of corporate earnings reports from several companies, including Netflix, CSX and Morgan Stanley.

Traders bid up shares in Netflix 2.5% a day after the video streaming giant reported earnings that blew past analysts’ forecasts. The profit beat came even as revenue and subscriber growth fell short of forecasts, though some investors had been bracing for an even bigger letdown.

Netflix is facing major threats to its video streaming service from Apple and Disney, among others. That, and investors’ concerns about subscriber growth, have been weighing on the stock recently, pulling it down 23% from a recent peak in early July.

Honeywell International also served up earnings that topped analysts’ forecasts. The stock added 2.4%. Railroad operator CSX also turned in quarterly results that were better than investors were expecting. Its shares finished 1.1% higher.

Morgan Stanley climbed 1.5% after the bank reported solid third-quarter results.

U.S. stocks also got a boost from news that Britain had reached a tentative deal to separate from the European Union. The deal, which faces a potentially tough road to approval in Britain’s Parliament, led to a mixed finish for major European stock indexes.

Despite a midmorning wobble, U.S. stocks held on, extending their gains for the week.

Health care stocks continued to notch gains Thursday. October has been good month for the sector. It’s up 2.1% for the month so far and 2.4% this week. By comparison, the S&P 500 index is up about 0.9% for the week and 0.7% for the month.

Even with the recent gains, health care stocks are well behind most other sectors, with only a 6.4% gain for the year. Most other sectors are up by double digit percentages.

Benchmark crude oil rose 57 cents to settle at $53.93 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 49 cents to close at $59.91 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline was unchanged at $1.62 per gallon. Heating oil climbed 1 cent to $1.95 per gallon. Natural gas rose 2 cents to $2.32 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $4.30 to $1,492.30 per ounce, silver rose 19 cents to $17.54 per ounce and copper rose 1 cent to $2.59 per pound.

The dollar fell to 108.68 Japanese yen from 108.77 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1124 from $1.1072

 

[bigdog]

The S&P 500 index closed out an uneven week of trading on Wall Street with its second straight weekly gain, even though stock indexes ended lower Friday.

Technology companies led the slide, erasing some of the market's gains from a day earlier. Communication services, industrials and health care stocks also fell, outweighing gains in real estate companies, banks and elsewhere in the market.

Investors continued to focus on company earnings reports. They're searching for a clearer picture on the impact that the trade war between the U.S. and China is having on corporate profits and the broader economy.

"To some extent, the bleeding's stopped, but now you need to figure out how healthy the patient is," said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. "Earnings help with that, and economic data that we receive over the next couple of months will help with that."

The S&P 500 index fell 11.75 points, or 0.4%, to 2,986.20. The index is just 1.3% below its all-time high set in late July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 255.68 points, or 1%, to 26,770.20. The Nasdaq lost 67.31 points, or 0.8%, to 8,089.54. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks gave up 6.36 points, or 0.4%, to 1,535.48.

Chart DOW vs AORD

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...all-back-after-china-reports-economy-weakened

Stocks End Lower; S&P 500 Notches 2nd Straight Weekly Gain
The S&P 500 index closed out an uneven week of trading on Wall Street with its second straight weekly gain, even though stock indexes ended lower Friday.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 18, 2019, at 4:54 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

The S&P 500 index closed out an uneven week of trading on Wall Street with its second straight weekly gain, even though stock indexes ended lower Friday.

Technology companies led the slide, erasing some of the market's gains from a day earlier. Communication services, industrials and health care stocks also fell, outweighing gains in real estate companies, banks and elsewhere in the market.

Investors continued to focus on company earnings reports. They're searching for a clearer picture on the impact that the trade war between the U.S. and China is having on corporate profits and the broader economy.

"To some extent, the bleeding's stopped, but now you need to figure out how healthy the patient is," said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. "Earnings help with that, and economic data that we receive over the next couple of months will help with that."

The S&P 500 index fell 11.75 points, or 0.4%, to 2,986.20. The index is just 1.3% below its all-time high set in late July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 255.68 points, or 1%, to 26,770.20. The Nasdaq lost 67.31 points, or 0.8%, to 8,089.54. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks gave up 6.36 points, or 0.4%, to 1,535.48.

All told, the S&P 500 ended the week with a gain of 0.5%. Last week, it notched a 0.6% gain.

Smaller stocks outpaced the broader market, a sign that investors are growing more confident. The Russell 2000 ended the week 1.6% higher after rising 0.8% last week.

Bond prices were little changed Friday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 1.75%.

While trading turned choppy this week, investors mostly applauded companies' results so far, including those from JPMorgan Chase, UnitedHealth Group and railroad operator Kansas City Southern.

That helped investors temporarily brush aside worries over the U.S.-China trade conflict. The early round of mostly good results could also help calm investors' fears about another dismal forecast for earnings growth.

Analysts expect profit to contract by nearly 5% for companies within the S&P 500, according to FactSet. Still, forecasts for declines in the first and second quarters were tempered as reporting progressed and companies finished those earnings seasons with tiny contractions instead.

The bar for topping earnings forecasts in the third quarter has been lowered enough that most companies should beat it, Delwiche said.

"The question is what happens with 2020 earnings," he said. "You still have robust 2020 numbers out there. Those likely need to come down."

Uncertainty over the trade war and signs of a slowing global economy have roiled markets this year. Washington and Beijing reached a truce last week that kept their conflict from escalating further, but both sides still have many issues to work out before reaching a substantive deal.

Chipmakers helped pull technology sector stocks lower Friday. Micron Technology dropped 4.5% and Nvidia fell 2%.

Communication services stocks also accounted for a big slice of the selling. Netflix led the slide, tumbling 6.2%.

Boeing led industrial sector stocks lower following news that the aircraft manufacturer waited months to disclose troubling internal communications between two of its employees about the company's now-grounded 737 Max jet. Boeing lost 6.8%.

Shares in several companies rose after they reported solid quarterly results.

ETrade Financial climbed 4.6% after reporting surprisingly good third-quarter profit.

Coca-Cola gained 1.8% after the company edged out Wall Street's third-quarter revenue forecasts on improved sales of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and other drinks.

Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson fell 6.2% after the company said it is recalling a single lot of its baby powder because a test found trace amounts of asbestos in one bottle.

Investors are in for another busy week of corporate earnings next week, including McDonald's on Tuesday, Boeing and Microsoft on Wednesday, and Amazon and American Airlines Group on Thursday.

Benchmark crude oil fell 15 cents to settle at $53.78 a barrel Friday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, dropped 49 cents to close at $59.42 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline was unchanged at $1.62 per gallon. Heating oil was unchanged at $1.95 per gallon. Natural gas was unchanged at $2.32 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $4.10 to $1,488.20 per ounce, silver fell 4 cents to $17.50 per ounce and copper rose 4 cents to $2.63 per pound.

The dollar fell to 108.46 Japanese yen from 108.68 yen on Thursday. The euro strengthened to $1.1163 from $1.1124.

Stock indexes in Europe closed broadly lower ahead of a weekend vote by Britain's Parliament on the latest proposed deal covering its exit from the European Union. Britain is set to leave the trading block on Oct. 31.

7755

 

[bigdog]

Technology companies and banks helped power stocks on Wall Street broadly higher Monday, extending the market's gains of the past two weeks.

The rally came as investors found fresh reason for optimism as the U.S. and China continue negotiations aimed at resolving their costly trade war. China's top negotiator said over the weekend that "substantial progress" was being made in its talks with the U.S. Tensions over trade between Washington and Beijing have cooled recently.

The latest gains nudged the S&P 500 above 3,000 points for the first time in a month. The benchmark index is now within 0.7% of its all-time high set on July 26 but could need a catalyst to set a record.

The S&P 500 index rose 20.52 points, or 0.7%, to 3,006.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 57.44 points, or 0.2%, to 26,827.64. The index was weighed down by a sharp drop in Boeing shares.

The Nasdaq climbed 73.44 points, or 0.9%, to 8,162.99.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to rise 0.3% or 18 points at the open.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ixed-amid-uncertainties-on-brexit-china-trade

US Stocks Close Broadly Higher, Led by Tech Companies, Banks
Technology companies and banks helped drive U.S. stocks broadly higher Monday, extending the market's gains of the past two weeks.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 21, 2019, at 4:57 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA and DAMIAN J. TROISE, AP Business Writers

Technology companies and banks helped power stocks on Wall Street broadly higher Monday, extending the market's gains of the past two weeks.

The rally came as investors found fresh reason for optimism as the U.S. and China continue negotiations aimed at resolving their costly trade war. China's top negotiator said over the weekend that "substantial progress" was being made in its talks with the U.S. Tensions over trade between Washington and Beijing have cooled recently.

The latest gains nudged the S&P 500 above 3,000 points for the first time in a month. The benchmark index is now within 0.7% of its all-time high set on July 26 but could need a catalyst to set a record.

"This would be about the fourth time since July that we're coming up against that all-time high again," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading & derivatives at Charles Schwab. "I have a hard time seeing us break through that if we don't get some kind of a trade deal."

The S&P 500 index rose 20.52 points, or 0.7%, to 3,006.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 57.44 points, or 0.2%, to 26,827.64. The index was weighed down by a sharp drop in Boeing shares.

The Nasdaq climbed 73.44 points, or 0.9%, to 8,162.99. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks did much better than other indices in another sign of investors' confidence. The index picked up 14.66 points, or 1%, to 1,550.14.

As they wait for trade talk developments, investors have been shifting their focus to corporate earnings reports. Monday was a relatively quiet start to a week full of results from major companies.

Analysts came into this latest earnings season expecting profits to decline overall for companies in the S&P 500. But with about 15% of companies in the index reporting so far, results have been surprisingly positive.

"We remain cautious for the quarter but believe that companies will continue to chin the low bar they have set and ultimately, we will end the quarter flat or up low single digits," said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management, in a note to investors.

Earnings growth fell slightly in the first and second quarters, according to data from FactSet, which was better than Wall Street's expectation at the start of those reporting seasons.

Chipmakers, many of which are highly reliant on China for business, made some of the strongest gains Monday. Nvidia rose 2.9% and Micron Technology added 4%. Apple rose 1.7%

Banks benefited from a solid rise in bond yields. Citigroup gained 3%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.80% from 1.75% late Friday. Higher yields allow banks to charge more lucrative interest on mortgages and other loans. Higher yields are also a sign that investors are more confident.

The materials and health care sectors were the only laggards.

Traders continued to hammer Boeing shares. The stock fell 3.8% on top of a 6.8% slide on Friday. Congress is ramping up its scrutiny of Boeing as its CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, is scheduled to testify to the House's transportation committee on Oct. 30.

Investors are concerned about the latest revelations surrounding its 737 Max airplanes.

In messages released last week, former senior Boeing test pilot Mark Forkner told a co-worker in 2016 he unknowingly misled safety regulators about problems with a flight-control system that would later be implicated in two deadly crashes. On Sunday, the company said that it's unfortunate that messages between co-workers weren't released in a manner allowing for "meaningful explanation."

Halliburton jumped 6.4% after the oilfield services company said it will cut costs in its North American operations amid a decline in customer spending.

Meanwhile, the nation's three largest drug distributors and a drugmaker reached a $260 million deal early Monday to settle a lawsuit related to the U.S. opioid crisis. The agreement averts what would have been the first federal trial over the crisis, though it does not resolve more than 2,600 other lawsuits seeking to hold the drug industry accountable for the deadly toll taken by opioids.

AmerisourceBergen slid 3.3%, Cardinal Health shed 2.2% and McKesson fell 3.2%. Drug manufacturer Teva jumped 8.7%.

Energy futures closed broadly lower Monday.

Benchmark crude oil fell 47 cents to settle at $53.31 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, dropped 46 cents to close at $58.96 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline slid 2 cents to $1.61 per gallon. Heating oil lost a penny to $1.94 per gallon. Natural gas dropped a penny to $2.24 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $6 to $1,488.10 per ounce, silver added 2 cents to $17.60 per ounce and copper slipped a penny to $2.65 per pound.

The dollar rose to 108.58 Japanese yen from 108.46 yen on Friday. The euro weakened to $1.1146 from $1.1163.

European markets closed broadly higher.

 

[bigdog]

A choppy day of trading on Wall Street ended Tuesday with stocks closing lower after a technology sector-led sell-off strengthened toward the end of the day.

That late-afternoon burst of selling erased modest gains for the market, which was coming off two weeks of gains.

The major indexes wavered for much of the day between small gains and losses as investors weighed a mixed batch of earnings reports from McDonald's, Procter & Gamble and other big companies.

The S&P 500 index fell 10.73 points, or 0.4%, to 2,995.99. The index spent most of the day at or above 3,000 and briefly climbed 0.3% before the late-afternoon slide.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 39.54 points, or 0.2%, to 26,788.10.

The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, bore the brunt of the selling, losing 58.69 points, or 0.7%, to 8,104.30.

The S&P/ASX 200 index looks set to edge lower following a soft night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to fall 4 points or 0.05% at the open.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...climb-lifted-by-upbeat-talk-on-china-us-trade

US Stock Indexes Close Lower on Mixed Company Earnings
A choppy day of trading on Wall Street ended Tuesday with stocks closing lower after a technology sector-led sell-off strengthened toward the end of the day.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 22, 2019, at 5:02 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

A choppy day of trading on Wall Street ended Tuesday with stocks closing lower after a technology sector-led sell-off strengthened toward the end of the day.

That late-afternoon burst of selling erased modest gains for the market, which was coming off two weeks of gains.

The major indexes wavered for much of the day between small gains and losses as investors weighed a mixed batch of earnings reports from McDonald's, Procter & Gamble and other big companies.

Weak profits and sales pulled shares in McDonald's lower. Travelers sank after the insurance company reported earnings that fell far short of analysts' forecasts. Meanwhile, traders bid up shares in Procter & Gamble after the consumer products maker raised its profit forecast for the year following surprisingly good third quarter earnings.

"We're still waiting to see how earnings season shakes out," said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior markets strategist at Voya Investment Management. "There have been some winners and some losers. There's been a couple of misses."

The S&P 500 index fell 10.73 points, or 0.4%, to 2,995.99. The index spent most of the day at or above 3,000 and briefly climbed 0.3% before the late-afternoon slide.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 39.54 points, or 0.2%, to 26,788.10.

The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, bore the brunt of the selling, losing 58.69 points, or 0.7%, to 8,104.30.

Smaller company stocks fared better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index added 0.73 points, or 0.1%, to 1,550.87.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which is a benchmark for the interest rates banks charge for mortgages and other loans, fell to 1.77% from 1.79% late Monday.

Investors have been shifting their focus to corporate earnings reports as they wait for developments in the trade negotiations between the U.S. and China.

Optimism over the latest round of talks, which for now have at least prevented the costly conflict from escalating further, helped put investors in a buying mood in recent weeks. The benchmark S&P 500 has notched weekly gains the past two weeks.

Analysts came into this latest earnings season expecting profits to decline overall for companies in the S&P 500. But with about 15% of companies in the index reporting so far, results have been surprisingly positive.

Earnings growth fell slightly in the first and second quarters, according to data from FactSet, which was better than Wall Street's expectation at the start of those reporting seasons.

"The market really moves on earnings," Cavanaugh said. "If we see a negative year-over-year earnings growth quarter, it's going to give the market a little bit of pause."

While some of the company earnings on Tuesday were surprisingly good, a few large companies gave investors disappointing results that tipped the market into the red.

Technology companies accounted for most of the selling. Microsoft dropped 1.5%. Payment processors Visa and Mastercard also fell, shedding 3.2% and 4.8%, respectively.

Communications services stocks also helped pull the market lower. Netflix led the slide, dropping 4.1%. Facebook lost 3.9% following news that a state-level antitrust investigation into the social networking giant now has the backing of a bipartisan group of 47 attorneys general.

McDonald's slid 5% after reporting that its third-quarter profit and revenue fell short of Wall Street forecasts. It was one of the big decliners among companies that rely on consumer spending.

Financial stocks also ended lower. Travelers sank 8.3% after the insurance company reported earnings that fell far short of analysts' forecast.

Companies with stronger quarterly results fared better.

Biogen soared 26.1% after the biotechnology giant handily beat Wall Street's third-quarter profit and revenue forecasts. It also said it will ask regulators to approve a treatment for Alzheimer's. The company's gains gave a strong shot to the broader health care sector.

Procter & Gamble rose 2.6% on its solid quarterly report card.

This will be another busy week for investors. Boeing, Caterpillar and Microsoft all report their results on Wednesday. American Airlines, Twitter and Amazon will report on Thursday.

Benchmark crude oil rose 90 cents to settle at $54.21 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained 74 cents to close at $59.70 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline was unchanged at $1.61 per gallon. Heating oil was unchanged at $1.94 per gallon. Natural gas rose 3 cents to $2.27 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell 70 cents to $1,481.70 per ounce, silver fell 9 cents to $17.44 per ounce and copper fell 2 cents to $2.62 per pound.

The dollar fell to 108.46 Japanese yen from 108.58 yen on Monday. The euro weakened to $1.1124 from $1.1146.

Stocks in Europe finished higher after British lawmakers on Tuesday approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal in principle. However, they also rejected the government's fast-track attempt to pass the bill within days.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he will "pause" the government's planned Brexit legislation.

 

[bigdog]

U.S. stock indexes eked out tiny gains Wednesday following a wobbly day of trading as investors reviewed another set of mixed quarterly report cards from big companies.

Some of the companies' earnings topped analysts' expectations. Others put traders in a selling mood after warning that the slowing global economy and trade tensions are hitting their profits.

While it's still early this earnings season, traders are trying to gauge how much the U.S. trade war with China and a slowdown in global economic growth is hurting Corporate America.

The lack of direction in earnings Wednesday was reflected in the market, which spent most of the day wavering between tiny gains and losses.

The S&P 500 rose 8.53 points, or 0.3%, to 3,004.52. The benchmark index had been down about 0.2% before recovering toward the end of the day. It remains within 0.8% of its all-time high, which was set July 26.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rebounded from a midday drop, gaining 45.85 points, or 0.2%, to 26,833.95.

The Nasdaq composite added 15.50 points, or 0.2%, to 8,119.79.

It looks set to be a good day of trade for the S&P/ASX 200 index following a positive night on U.S. markets. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to jump 0.5% or 32 points at the open.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...follow-wall-street-lower-after-mixed-earnings

Stocks Eke Out Gains After a Mixed Set of Earnings Reports
U.S. stock indexes eked out tiny gains Wednesday following a wobbly day of trading Wednesday as investors reviewed another set of mixed company earnings.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 23, 2019, at 5:05 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

U.S. stock indexes eked out tiny gains Wednesday following a wobbly day of trading as investors reviewed another set of mixed quarterly report cards from big companies.

Some of the companies' earnings topped analysts' expectations. Others put traders in a selling mood after warning that the slowing global economy and trade tensions are hitting their profits.

While it's still early this earnings season, traders are trying to gauge how much the U.S. trade war with China and a slowdown in global economic growth is hurting Corporate America.

The lack of direction in earnings Wednesday was reflected in the market, which spent most of the day wavering between tiny gains and losses.

"Fewer than a quarter of the companies have reported, so there's a lot more to come," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. "But the results have been mixed so far, even with the bar being set as low as it was."

The S&P 500 rose 8.53 points, or 0.3%, to 3,004.52. The benchmark index had been down about 0.2% before recovering toward the end of the day. It remains within 0.8% of its all-time high, which was set July 26.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rebounded from a midday drop, gaining 45.85 points, or 0.2%, to 26,833.95.

The Nasdaq composite added 15.50 points, or 0.2%, to 8,119.79. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 1.99 points, or 0.1%, to 1,552.86.

Bond yields mostly held steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was unchanged at 1.76%.

Roughly a quarter of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported how much they made from July through September, and analysts are still forecasting the index will end up showing a drop in earnings per share from a year earlier.

If they're right, it would be the first time earnings have fallen for three straight quarters since 2015-16, according to FactSet.

The weakest results are expected to come from companies that are reliant on the strength of the global economy, which has been slowing amid trade wars. Raw-material producers, technology companies and energy stocks are predicted to report drops of 10% or more, according to FactSet.

Analysts are forecasting stronger growth for communications companies and businesses that sell to consumers, which have been the strongest part of the economy.

One worrisome sign is that estimates for 2020 corporate earnings growth have been mostly reduced since the end of last month, Stovall said.

"There's so much uncertainty out there right now," he said. "The US-China trade relations, whether that is likely to see improvement, and what kind of an impact Europe could experience when Britain does finally leave the EU."

Health care companies helped lead stocks higher Wednesday, powered in part by Thermo Fisher Scientific, which reported stronger-than-expected profits and raised its forecast for full-year revenue and profit. The stock gained 5.7%.

Boeing rose 1% after it said its 737 Max airplane may return to service by the end of the year and that it will gradually increase 737 production by late 2020. That helped make up for its weaker-than-expected profit for the latest quarter.

On the losing end was Texas Instruments, which said its customers have become far more cautious than they were even 90 days ago, with trade tensions a big factor. It reported stronger profits for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but its forecast for this quarter fell short of their estimates. It lost 7.5%.

Caterpillar, another company whose fortunes are seen on Wall Street as closely tied to President Donald Trump's trade wars, briefly declined before climbing 1.2% after reporting weaker-than-expected profit for the latest quarter.

Several big companies are scheduled to report quarterly results on Thursday, including American Airlines Group, Amazon and Visa.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose $1.49 to settle at $55.97 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained $1.47 to close at $61.17 a barrel.

Wholesale gasoline rose 4 cents to $1.65 per gallon. Heating oil climbed 2 cents to $1.96 per gallon. Natural gas rose 1 cent to $2.28 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $8.20 to $1,489.90 per ounce, silver rose 8 cents to $17.52 per ounce and copper rose 4 cents to $2.66 per pound.

The dollar rose to 108.65 Japanese yen from 108.46 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1128 from $1.1124.

Stock indexes in Europe closed mixed Wednesday as the United Kingdom's pending exit from the European Union appeared set for yet another delay.

 

[bigdog]

Solid profits and forecasts from several technology companies helped lift U.S. stocks to modest gains Thursday, nudging the S&P 500 within striking distance of its all-time high.

The benchmark index wavered between small gains and losses through much of the day as investors reviewed another round of third-quarter earnings reports and company outlooks heading into 2020.

Traders have braced for weaker results this earnings season amid concerns about the costly trade war between the U.S. and China, and increased signs of slowing economic growth worldwide.

Earnings reports in the last couple of weeks, representing roughly a third of companies in the S&P 500, have mostly exceeded Wall Street analysts' modest expectations. However, many of those that delivered improved results for the quarter have also issued disappointing profit outlooks. That's led to several days of uneven trading in the markets. On Thursday, decliners outnumbered gainers among stocks in the New York Stock Exchange.

After moving sideways for much of the day, the S&P 500 added 5.77 points, or 0.2%, to 3,010.29. The index is now within 0.6% of its all-time high set July 26.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 28.42 points, or 0.1%, to 26,805.53. The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, climbed 66 points, or 0.8%, to 8,185.80.

The S&P/ASX 200 index looks set to finish the week on a positive note. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to rise 40 points or 0.6% at the open.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...-mixed-as-earnings-drive-modest-wall-st-gains

Solid Earnings From Tech Companies Lift US Stocks Higher
Solid profits and forecasts from several technology companies helped lift U.S. stocks to modest gains Thursday, nudging the S&P 500 within striking distance of its all-time high.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 24, 2019, at 5:02 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Solid profits and forecasts from several technology companies helped lift U.S. stocks to modest gains Thursday, nudging the S&P 500 within striking distance of its all-time high.

The benchmark index wavered between small gains and losses through much of the day as investors reviewed another round of third-quarter earnings reports and company outlooks heading into 2020.

Traders have braced for weaker results this earnings season amid concerns about the costly trade war between the U.S. and China, and increased signs of slowing economic growth worldwide.

Earnings reports in the last couple of weeks, representing roughly a third of companies in the S&P 500, have mostly exceeded Wall Street analysts' modest expectations. However, many of those that delivered improved results for the quarter have also issued disappointing profit outlooks. That's led to several days of uneven trading in the markets. On Thursday, decliners outnumbered gainers among stocks in the New York Stock Exchange.

"What we would have needed to see for the market to be really cheering this (earnings) story is if companies were beating and then raising forward expectations," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "But you're not seeing that very consistently."

After moving sideways for much of the day, the S&P 500 added 5.77 points, or 0.2%, to 3,010.29. The index is now within 0.6% of its all-time high set July 26.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 28.42 points, or 0.1%, to 26,805.53. The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, climbed 66 points, or 0.8%, to 8,185.80.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks slipped 2.67 points, or 0.2%, to 1,550.18.

European markets closed broadly higher. Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 1.76%.

About one-third of the companies in the S&P 500 have released their results for the July-September quarter. So far, they amount to just over a 1.2% drop in profit overall, according to FactSet. That's much better than initial expectations for a more than 4% contraction in earnings growth for all the companies in the index.

While that's encouraging, investors are also focusing on company outlooks, which have been uneven.

"Financials looked OK, but the tech and industrials have been really mixed," Haworth said. "You had good news from Microsoft, bad news from Texas Instruments, and that's what has everyone stuck."

The tech sector, already the biggest gainer this year, almost singlehandedly accounted for the market's gains Thursday as solid results from Microsoft, PayPal and other technology sector companies offset disappointing quarterly report cards from other companies. Microsoft rose 2%, PayPal climbed 8.6% and Lam Research surged 13.9%.

Traders also cheered encouraging results from several retailers, including O'Reilly Automotive. The auto parts seller jumped 9.2% after it delivered better-than-expected results for the third quarter. It also raised its profit forecast.

Tesla surged 17.7% after the electric car maker surprised Wall Street with a solid profit. Analysts expected the company to report another loss as it struggles to increase sales.

Solid profits helped lift American Airlines 4% and push Southwest Airlines 5.7% higher. American Airlines beat Wall Street profit forecasts thanks in part to lower prices for jet fuel. Southwest overcame the grounding of its Boeing 737 Max jets to beat analysts' profit forecasts.

Other earnings reports and outlooks put investors in a selling mood. Twitter plunged 20.8% on weak financial results, pulling communications services stocks lower.

Shares in several companies also fell after they posted mixed results or weak profit outlooks: Ford slumped 6.6%, 3M lost 4.1%, eBay tumbled 9.1% and Stanley Black & Decker dropped 4.7%.

Benchmark crude oil rose 26 cents to settle at $56.23 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained 50 cents to close at $61.67 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 1 cent to $1.66 per gallon. Heating oil climbed 2 cents to $1.98 per gallon. Natural gas rose 3 cents to $2.32 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $9.00 to $1,498.90 per ounce, silver rose 22 cents to $17.74 per ounce and copper was unchanged at $2.66 per pound.

The dollar fell to 108.62 Japanese yen from 108.65 yen on Wednesday. The euro weakened to $1.1108 from $1.1128.

 

[bigdog]

The S&P 500 closed just short of an all-time high

Friday as investors welcomed solid company earnings reports and an encouraging update on trade talks between the U.S. and China.

Technology, communications services and financial stocks powered the rally. The index ended within 0.1% of its record set July 26. It also notched its third straight weekly gain.

Strong earnings reports from Intel, Charter Communications and other companies helped reverse a mixed start.

The buying accelerated around midday after the U.S. Trade Representative's office said the discussions with China's negotiating team "made headway and the two sides are close to finalizing some sections of the agreement."

The S&P 500 rose 12.26 points, or 0.4%, to 3,022.55.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 152.53 points, or 0.6%, to 26,958.06. The Nasdaq climbed 57.32 points, or 0.7%, or 8,243.12.

This posting will be about 9:00 AM commencing from Monday after the New York time turns off daylight saving time

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...res-mixed-amid-uncertainty-over-policy-growth


Chart DOW vs AORD

Stocks Post Gains on Solid Earnings, US-China Trade Optimism
Wall Street nearly delivered a milestone Friday as the S&P 500 index touched an all-time high before settling just below its record close reached in July.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 25, 2019, at 5:11 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA and DAMIAN J. TROISE, AP Business Writers

The S&P 500 closed just short of an all-time high Friday as investors welcomed solid company earnings reports and an encouraging update on trade talks between the U.S. and China.

Technology, communications services and financial stocks powered the rally. The index ended within 0.1% of its record set July 26. It also notched its third straight weekly gain.

Strong earnings reports from Intel, Charter Communications and other companies helped reverse a mixed start.

The buying accelerated around midday after the U.S. Trade Representative's office said the discussions with China's negotiating team "made headway and the two sides are close to finalizing some sections of the agreement."

"You've had indexes around the world make new highs since the last time the S&P did," said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. "If we want to see a new high that's going to be durable we need to see more U.S. broad market improvement. It's heading in that direction, but it's not there yet."

The S&P 500 rose 12.26 points, or 0.4%, to 3,022.55.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 152.53 points, or 0.6%, to 26,958.06. The Nasdaq climbed 57.32 points, or 0.7%, or 8,243.12. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks picked up 8.53 points, or 0.6%, to 1,558.71.

The U.S.-China trade conflict, which has led both sides to impose billions in tariffs on each other's goods, has roiled financial markets and stoked worries that the dispute could tip the global economy into a recession.

Those worries eased in recent weeks, after Washington and Beijing worked to calm tensions and then resumed negotiations.

That's allowed investors to focus on company earnings reports the past two weeks. Traders want to get a sense of how Corporate America is faring against the backdrop of the costly trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

Earnings reports so far have mostly exceeded Wall Street analysts' modest expectations. However, many of those that delivered improved results for the quarter have also issued disappointing profit outlooks.

Of the roughly 40% of the companies in the S&P 500 that have reported so far, 80% of them had results that topped Wall Street's earnings forecasts, while 64% beat revenue estimates, according to FactSet.

Factoring in the earnings reports that have already come in, analysts expect earnings from S&P 500 companies for the July-September quarter will be down 3.7% from a year ago. That's slightly better than the 4% drop that analysts were initially expecting.

As of Friday, some 38 companies in the S&P 500 had issued earnings forecasts for the fourth quarter. Of those, 26 issued negative guidance and 12 gave a positive outlook. That works out to 68% of those companies lowering their guidance, which is just below the 5-year average of 70%, according to FactSet.

Until this week, the market had a mostly muted reaction to earnings. In contrast, the S&P 500 notched gains four out of the past five days, rounding out the week with a three-day winning streak.

Intel jumped 8.1% after raising its profit forecast for the year following a solid third quarter. Fellow chipmakers, including Nvidia, also made strong gains.

Charter Communications gained 6.2% after reporting solid financial results. The cable operator made some of the strongest gains among its fellow communications companies.

Banks rose as bond yields moved higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.8% from 1.76% late Thursday.

Consumer product makers, utilities and real estate companies lagged the market.

Amazon fell 1.1% after releasing disappointing third-quarter profits and a weak sales forecast for the holiday shopping season.

Some of the biggest names in technology and industry will release their results next week: Alphabet, Google's parent company, on Monday; General Motors, and drugmakers Merck and Pfizer on Tuesday; Apple and Facebook on Wednesday; and, Exxon on Friday.

Beyond earnings, the Federal Reserve issues its latest interest rate policy statement Wednesday afternoon, while the government will release its latest monthly tally of hiring and consumer confidence.

The economic data, along with a steady flow of important corporate earnings reports, could inject more volatility into the markets.

"The big focus will be the Fed," Delwiche said. "They're likely to cut rates. If they didn't that would come as a surprise. The uncertainty is what sort of guidance they give going forward."

Benchmark crude oil rose 43 cents to settle at $56.66 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained 35 cents to close at $62.02 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 1 cent to $1.67 per gallon. Heating oil fell 1 cent to $1.98 per gallon. Natural gas slid 1 cent to $2.46 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 60 cents to $1,499.50 per ounce, silver rose 12 cents to $17.86 per ounce and copper added a penny to $2.67 per pound.

The dollar fell to 108.68 Japanese yen from 108.62 yen on Thursday. The euro weakened to $1.1080 from $1.1108.

8071

 

[bigdog]

The S&P 500 index closed at an all-time high Monday, extending a recent string of gains in what’s mostly been a solid month for the market.

The benchmark index closed at 3,039.42, around 14 points above its previous record set on July 26. The S&P 500 notched its latest milestone after weeks of hovering just below its prior high.

Investors have been balancing worries over the impact that the costly trade war between the U.S. and China is having on corporate profits and the global economy against renewed optimism that negotiations that got underway this month could lead to some kind of resolution in the conflict.

The S&P 500 rose 16.87 points, or 0.6%, to 3,039.42. The index entered this week with three straight weekly gains may have had history on its side Monday.

“October 28 is historically the best day of the year for stocks,” according to Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist for LPL Financial. In a note to clients, Detrick said the average gain on Oct. 28 is 0.54%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 132.66 points, or 0.5%, to 27,090.72. The Dow is still about 1% below its record set on July 15.

The Nasdaq climbed 82.87 points, or 1%, to 8,325.99. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 13.22 points, or 0.9%, to 1,571.93.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index looks set to storm higher this morning. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to rise 23 points or 0.35% at the market open.

https://www.apnews.com/1efc943a05c34b4285c395029cfaaf6a

S&P 500 hits all-time high as market extends recent gains
By ALEX VEIGA

The S&P 500 index closed at an all-time high Monday, extending a recent string of gains in what’s mostly been a solid month for the market.

The benchmark index closed at 3,039.42, around 14 points above its previous record set on July 26. The S&P 500 notched its latest milestone after weeks of hovering just below its prior high.

Investors have been balancing worries over the impact that the costly trade war between the U.S. and China is having on corporate profits and the global economy against renewed optimism that negotiations that got underway this month could lead to some kind of resolution in the conflict.

“U.S.-China is not going away any time soon,” said Ben Phillips, chief investment officer of EventShares. “The market’s sentiment tends to swing from overly fearful to overly exuberant, and we’re probably starting to swing a little to the exuberant side right now. There are still a lot of risks out there.”

Monday’s rally came at the beginning of a busy week of corporate earnings and economic reports and with investors expecting another interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Coming into this week, investors have been encouraged as most of the companies that have reported quarterly results the past couple of weeks that beat Wall Street analysts’ forecasts for earnings growth.

While some companies have lowered their forward earnings guidance, the market shook off those concerns. Expectations of another Fed interest rate cut this week also helped put investors in a buying mood, Phillips said.

“Last week’s overall momentum was just kind of up, up, up,” he said. “People are fully pricing in the Fed cutting again this week. There’s optimism that there’s going to be continued easy liquidity, or easy money, and that gets people excited.”

The S&P 500 rose 16.87 points, or 0.6%, to 3,039.42. The index entered this week with three straight weekly gains may have had history on its side Monday.

“October 28 is historically the best day of the year for stocks,” according to Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist for LPL Financial. In a note to clients, Detrick said the average gain on Oct. 28 is 0.54%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 132.66 points, or 0.5%, to 27,090.72. The Dow is still about 1% below its record set on July 15.

The Nasdaq climbed 82.87 points, or 1%, to 8,325.99. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 13.22 points, or 0.9%, to 1,571.93.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.84% from 1.80% late Friday.

While the market waits for something concrete to emerge from the U.S.-China trade negotiations, investors have been largely playing it safe. A look at the big sector winners over the past three months shows utilities are up 5.6% and real estate stocks have gained 5.4%, leading the rest of the market.

Technology stocks are up only 1.7% in the same period, though the sector still leads all others with a 35.4% gain so far this year.

Technology, health care and communication services stocks powered the market’s gains Monday, outweighing losses in utilities, real estate and household goods makers. Energy stocks also fell as crude oil prices headed lower. Banks rose along with bond yields, which help set interest rates for mortgages and other loans.

Microsoft rose 2.5% after winning a Pentagon contract. Other technology companies also climbed. AT&T led broad gains for communications companies.

Despite Monday’s rally, the market could be in for some volatility this week as some 156 companies in the S&P 500 are scheduled to issue their quarterly results this week.

Google’s parent Alphabet reported results after the close of the market Monday. The company’s revenue exceeded Wall Street expectations but profits fell short. The stock dropped nearly 2% in after-hours trading.

General Motors and drugmakers Merck and Pfizer release results on Tuesday. Apple and Facebook report on Wednesday.

Traders also will be closely watching for the release of several important economic reports this week, including the Labor Department’s monthly employment report on Friday. Economists expect a slight increase in the unemployment rate to 3.6% in October from 3.5% in September.

Benchmark crude oil fell 85 cents to settle at $55.81 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, dropped 45 cents to close at $61.57a barrel. Wholesale gasoline was unchanged at $1.67 per gallon. Heating oil declined 2 cents to $1.96 per gallon. Natural gas fell 1 cent to $2.45 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $9.50 to $1,490.00 per ounce, silver fell 4 cents to $17.82 per ounce and copper was unchanged at $2.67 per pound.

The dollar rose to 109.02 Japanese yen from 108.68 yen on Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1098 from $1.1080

European markets closed broadly higher as the European Union agreed to give Britain a three-month extension for its planned departure from the 28-member trading bloc. It had been set to leave on Oct. 31. The extension gives both sides more time to make a deal that will cover trade and other issues.

 

[bigdog]

Technology companies led stocks lower on Wall Street Tuesday as a wobbly day of trading ended with modest losses for the market.

Health care stocks jumped on stronger-than-expected reports from drugmakers, but losses by internet and media companies held the market in check following a mixed report from Google's parent.

Companies have largely been reporting stronger earnings than analysts expected, but they're nowhere close to blow-away good. S&P 500 companies are still on track to report a third straight quarter of profit declines, according to FactSet.

Tuesday's modest market pullback came a day after the S&P 500 hit an all-time high. The benchmark index mostly drifted between small gains and losses Tuesday, finishing within 0.1% of its record.

The S&P 500 slipped 2.53 points, or 0.1%, to 3,036.89. It set a record on Monday, surpassing its prior peak set in late July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 19.26 points, or 0.1%, to 27,071. The Nasdaq composite slid 49.13 points, or 0.6%, to 8,276.85.

Smaller companies fared better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index rose 5.14 points, or 0.3%, to 1,577.07.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to fall 0.4% or 27 points at the market open.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...shares-mixed-after-s-p-500-hits-all-time-high

US Stocks Cap Wobbly Day of Trading With Modest Losses
Technology companies led stocks lower on Wall Street Tuesday as a wobbly day of trading ended with modest losses for the market.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 29, 2019, at 4:56 p.m.

By STAN CHOE and ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writers

Technology companies led stocks lower on Wall Street Tuesday as a wobbly day of trading ended with modest losses for the market.

Health care stocks jumped on stronger-than-expected reports from drugmakers, but losses by internet and media companies held the market in check following a mixed report from Google's parent.

Companies have largely been reporting stronger earnings than analysts expected, but they're nowhere close to blow-away good. S&P 500 companies are still on track to report a third straight quarter of profit declines, according to FactSet.

Tuesday's modest market pullback came a day after the S&P 500 hit an all-time high. The benchmark index mostly drifted between small gains and losses Tuesday, finishing within 0.1% of its record.

"The market was a little bit overbought," said Janet Johnston, portfolio manager at Trim Tabs Asset Management. "It's a good sign that it continues to hold at new highs."

The S&P 500 slipped 2.53 points, or 0.1%, to 3,036.89. It set a record on Monday, surpassing its prior peak set in late July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 19.26 points, or 0.1%, to 27,071. The Nasdaq composite slid 49.13 points, or 0.6%, to 8,276.85.

Smaller companies fared better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index rose 5.14 points, or 0.3%, to 1,577.07.

Major stock indexes in Europe closed mostly lower. The price of crude oil dropped a second straight day, and gold dipped.

U.S. stocks are on track to end October with gains. The S&P 500 has closed with a weekly gain the past three weeks.

What's helped buoy U.S. stocks are hopes that the United States and China can make progress on their trade dispute, or at least stop making it worse. Lower interest rates have also played a big role.

Most investors expect the Federal Reserve to cut short-term rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday. The central bank has cut rates two other times since the summer in a bid to shield the U.S. from the impact of the trade war and a slowing global economy.

Treasury yields dipped ahead of the decision. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slid to 1.83% from 1.85% late Monday. The two-year yield, which is more sensitive to moves by the Fed, fell to 1.63% from 1.64%.

Company earnings reports have also helped lift the market. With nearly half of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported results for the July-September quarter, the index is on pace to report a profit drop of 3.5% from the prior year, according to FactSet.

That's not as bad as the roughly 4% decline that analysts were expecting on the eve of earnings reporting season, but it would be the first time that profits dropped for three straight quarters since 2015-2016.

Uncertainty and costs from the trade wars and slowing global economy have weighed on company profits this year, making it tougher for them eclipse their results from 2018.

The hefty tax cut that helped pump up corporate earnings in 2018 also makes it tougher for companies to do better this year.

"The biggest factor is the tough comps from the sugar high of the tax cut," Johnston said. "The economy is a little bit slower than it was last year. That said, we have not had an earnings recession and we continue to see positive year-over-year growth in earnings."

Analysts say the sharpest earnings declines in the third quarter will come from energy companies, raw-material producers and technology companies. Wall Street is expecting stronger growth, meanwhile, from companies that do most of their business domestically, such as utilities and real-estate companies.

Over the long term, stock prices tend to track the path of corporate profits.

Apple, which is due to report quarterly results Wednesday, contributed to the slide in technology stocks Tuesday. The stock lost 2.3%.

Google's parent company, Alphabet, dropped 2.2% following its mixed earnings report. Revenue came in better than Wall Street's expectations, but profit fell short.

Health care stocks had the biggest gains among the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500 following better-than-expected reports two big drugmakers. Pfizer rose 2.5% after it raised its forecast for the year. Merck gained 3.5% after reporting big jumps in sales for its top two blockbuster drugs, cancer drug Keytruda and vaccine Gardasil.

General Motors climbed 4.3% after reporting quarterly results that were better than Wall Street expected, even though a strike by its employees brought its U.S. factories to a standstill.

Shares in Fiat Chrysler jumped 7.6% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the automaker is in merger talks with Peugeot maker PSA Group of France. Fiat Chrysler has been the subject of merger speculation for months.

Benchmark crude oil fell 27 cents to settle at $55.54 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, inched up 2 cents to close at $61.59 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline added 2 cents to $1.69 per gallon. Heating oil was unchanged at $1.96 per gallon. Natural gas rose 7 cents to $2.52 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $5.00 to $1,487.40 per ounce, silver fell 4 cents to $17.78 per ounce and copper rose 1 cent to $2.69 per pound.

The dollar fell to 108.81 Japanese yen from 109.02 yen on Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1110 from $1.1098.

 

[bigdog]

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Wednesday, sending the S&P 500 to a record high for the second time this week, as investors welcomed the Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates for the third time this year.

The central bank also indicated that it won't cut rates again in the coming months unless the economic outlook worsens. The Fed has been using its power to cut short-term interest rates in a bid to shore up the economy amid the costly impact from the U.S.-China trade war.

With its latest rate cut, the Fed has nearly reversed the four rate hikes that it made in 2018.

Stocks wobbled shortly after the Fed's mid afternoon announcement, which had been widely anticipated by traders. The market then rallied into the close, led by gains in technology and health care stocks. Bond yields fell.

The S&P 500 index rose 9.88 points, or 0.3%, to 3,046.77. The benchmark index also hit record high on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 115.27, or 0.4%, to 27,186.69. The Nasdaq composite added 27.12 points, or 0.3%, to 8,303.98.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks fell 4.23 points, or 0.3%, to 1,572.85.

The S&P/ASX 200 index looks set to bounce back on Thursday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to rise 0.1% or 6 points this morning.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...res-mostly-lower-following-wall-street-losses

S&P 500 Hits New High as Traders Welcome Latest Fed Rate Cut
Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Wednesday, sending the S&P 500 to a record high for the second time this week, as investors welcomed the Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates for the third time this year.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 30, 2019, at 4:44 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Wednesday, sending the S&P 500 to a record high for the second time this week, as investors welcomed the Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates for the third time this year.

The central bank also indicated that it won't cut rates again in the coming months unless the economic outlook worsens. The Fed has been using its power to cut short-term interest rates in a bid to shore up the economy amid the costly impact from the U.S.-China trade war.

With its latest rate cut, the Fed has nearly reversed the four rate hikes that it made in 2018.

Stocks wobbled shortly after the Fed's mid afternoon announcement, which had been widely anticipated by traders. The market then rallied into the close, led by gains in technology and health care stocks. Bond yields fell.

"The rate cut was expected and also the market had been expecting a change in the language regarding another rate cut this year," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. "The Fed just basically upped the bar for another rate cut by suggesting that the economy is in a good place."

The S&P 500 index rose 9.88 points, or 0.3%, to 3,046.77. The benchmark index also hit record high on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 115.27, or 0.4%, to 27,186.69. The Nasdaq composite added 27.12 points, or 0.3%, to 8,303.98.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks fell 4.23 points, or 0.3%, to 1,572.85.

Major stock indexes in Europe closed mostly higher.

U.S. stock indexes were mostly flat ahead of the Fed's announcement Wednesday.

The central bank's latest move reduces the short-term rate it controls — which influences many consumer and business loan rates — to a range between 1.5% and 1.75%.

Lower rates are intended to encourage more borrowing and spending. Rising global risks have led the Fed to change course after hiking rates four times last year.

The market was expecting another cut this month, which shifted investors' focus to what the Fed might say about the prospects of further rate reductions.

During a news conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled that the central bank will likely forgo additional cuts to its benchmark rates while economic growth and inflation matches the Fed's outlook.

"A few weeks back, the shift in language suggesting at least a pause would have been a disappointment," said Craig Birk, chief investment officer at Personal Capital. "But whether by design or not, we've seen a steady flow in expectations toward exactly what happened. So, it is not surprising the reaction is muted or moderately positive."

The central bank's rate reductions are intended as a kind of insurance against threats to the economy, which is in its 11th year of expansion, fueled by consumer spending and a solid if slightly weakened job market.

On Wednesday, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy slowed to a modest growth rate of 1.9% in the July-September quarter. That surpassed economists' forecasts for even weaker growth, however.

The report indicated that consumer spending downshifted and businesses continued to trim their investments in response to trade war uncertainty and a weakening global economy.

Technology and health care companies drove much of the market's broad gains Wednesday. Microsoft rose 1.3%, while Johnson & Johnson climbed 2.9%.

Those sectors helped offset losses in energy and financial stocks.

Energy stocks took the heaviest losses. Chevron slid 1.5% and Helmerich & Payne fell 4.3%. The sector dropped 2.1%, lowering its gains for the year to just 1.1%. That's the smallest gain of all the sectors in the S&P 500.

Several big banks helped pull financial sector stocks lower as bond yields declined. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped to 1.77% from 1.83% late Tuesday. The yield is a benchmark for interest rates that bank charge for mortgages and other loans. JPMorgan dropped 0.6% and Bank of America slid 1.4%.

Investors continued to focus on a steady flow of corporate earnings.

Mattel surged 13.8% after the toy maker breezed past Wall Street's third-quarter profit forecasts on strong sales of its Barbie and Hot Wheels brands. The company also put investors at ease when it said that it hasn't seen any impact from tariff increases on toys imported from China ahead of the Dec. 15 deadline.

General Electric jumped 11.5% after the industrial conglomerate raised its projections for a key measure of profitability despite a damaging trade fight and ongoing problems with Boeing's 737 Max, which GE helps make engines for.

Molson Coors Brewing, which trades under the symbol "TAP," fell 3.1% after announcing a restructuring plan as it faces declining beer sales. The company is laying off 500 workers worldwide as it streamlines operations in a bid to bring new products to market more quickly, like the canned wine and hard coffee it introduced this year.

Benchmark crude oil fell 48 cents to settle at $55.06 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, dropped 98 cents to close at $60.61 a barrel.

In other commodities trading, wholesale gasoline fell 3 cents to $1.66 per gallon. Heating oil declined 5 cents to $1.91 per gallon. Natural gas rose 5 cents to $2.69 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $5.80 to $1,493.20 per ounce, silver rose 4 cents to $17.82 per ounce and copper fell 1 cent to $2.68 per pound.

The dollar rose to 108.97 Japanese yen from 108.81 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1125 from $1.1110.

___

 

[bigdog]

Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday after investors got spooked by a published report that cast doubt on the prospects of a long-term U.S-China trade deal.

Bond prices surged, sending yields sharply lower, as traders turned cautious. The sell-off was a marked shift from a day earlier, when the S&P 500 notched its second all-time high this week.

Despite the sell-off, the benchmark index closed out October with its second straight monthly gain as an easing of trade tensions and surprisingly good corporate earnings gave investors more confidence.

Industrial stocks led the selling Thursday after a published report raised concerns about the prospects of a comprehensive trade deal between Washington and Beijing. That overshadowed remarks by President Donald Trump, who touted Thursday that both sides are working on finding a location to sign "phase one" of the trade deal.

The S&P 500 index fell 9.21 points, or 0.3%, to 3,037.56. The benchmark index is on track for its fourth-straight weekly gain and is now up 21.2% this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 140.46 points, or 0.5%, to 27,046.23. It had briefly slumped 268 points.

The Nasdaq slid 11.62 points, or 0.1%, to 8,292.36. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks lost 10.40 points, or 0.7%, to 1,562.45.

It looks set to be a disappointing end to the week for the S&P/ASX 200 index. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to fall 0.4% or 27 points this morning.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...-follow-wall-street-higher-after-fed-rate-cut

US Stocks Close Broadly Lower on New US-China Trade Jitters
Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday after investors got spooked by a published report that cast doubt on the prospects of a long-term U.S-China trade deal.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Oct. 31, 2019, at 5:04 p.m.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday after investors got spooked by a published report that cast doubt on the prospects of a long-term U.S-China trade deal.

Bond prices surged, sending yields sharply lower, as traders turned cautious. The sell-off was a marked shift from a day earlier, when the S&P 500 notched its second all-time high this week.

Despite the sell-off, the benchmark index closed out October with its second straight monthly gain as an easing of trade tensions and surprisingly good corporate earnings gave investors more confidence.

Industrial stocks led the selling Thursday after a published report raised concerns about the prospects of a comprehensive trade deal between Washington and Beijing. That overshadowed remarks by President Donald Trump, who touted Thursday that both sides are working on finding a location to sign "phase one" of the trade deal.

"It's mainly the concerns about whether there will be some kind of trade deal with China, both the first round and the bigger agreement that, obviously, appears further away," said Kate Warne, chief investment strategist at Edward Jones. "When there's good news on trade negotiations, stocks tend to move up, and when there's bad news or concerns, stocks tend to sell off."

The S&P 500 index fell 9.21 points, or 0.3%, to 3,037.56. The benchmark index is on track for its fourth-straight weekly gain and is now up 21.2% this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 140.46 points, or 0.5%, to 27,046.23. It had briefly slumped 268 points.

The Nasdaq slid 11.62 points, or 0.1%, to 8,292.36. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks lost 10.40 points, or 0.7%, to 1,562.45.

Major stock indexes in Europe finished lower.

The flood of company earnings reports and a truce between the U.S. and China as the nations work to finalize "phase one" of a trade deal largely put investors' worries about trade on the backburner this month. But a Bloomberg report Thursday helped put investors in a selling mood. The report, citing unnamed sources, suggested Chinese officials are doubtful that they will be able to reach a comprehensive, long-term trade deal with the U.S.

The world's two biggest economies have wrangled for more than 15 months over U.S. allegations that China steals technology, forces businesses to hand over trade secrets and unfairly subsidizes its technology companies in an aggressive drive to supplant American technological dominance.

They have imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of each other's goods in a trade fight that has slowed global economic growth.

Negotiators from both countries are trying to settle details of the phase one deal, which sidesteps some of the biggest issues dividing the countries.

"You have the Chinese saying, 'Gee, they're not sure there's a possibility for a long-term negotiation here, which is just another reminder that there are big issues still on the table," said Paul Christopher, head of global market strategy for Wells Fargo Investment Institute. "A phase one deal is not really much of a deal at all."

Caterpillar and 3M helped pull industrial sector stocks broadly lower Thursday. Caterpillar fell 1.8% and 3M dropped 2%.

Financial stocks also took heavy losses as bond yields made a significant move lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.69% from 1.79% late Wednesday.

Yields were already falling in the early going and were given an extra shove lower following a surprisingly weak survey on business activity in the Midwest. A separate report showed that U.S. consumer spending ticked up last month, though it came in below economists' expectations.

Technology stocks also fell, despite solid gains from Apple following an encouraging earnings report. The iPhone maker rose 2.3%.

Utilities held up better than the rest of the market as investors moved money into safe-play holdings.

Communications stocks also bucked the broader market slide. Facebook gained 1.8% after releasing surprisingly good third-quarter results.

Investors have been assessing a steady flow of earnings and economic reports this week. They will get another batch of economic data Friday with the government's release of October employment data, though a 40-day strike against General Motors is expected to dampen the jobs snapshot.

Benchmark crude oil fell 88 cents to settle at $54.18 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, dropped 38 cents to close at $60.23 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline fell 3 cents to $1.63 per gallon. Heating oil declined 3 cents to $1.88 per gallon. Natural gas fell 6 cents to $2.63 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $18.20 to $1,511.40 per ounce, silver rose 19 cents to $18.01 per ounce and copper fell 5 cents to $2.63 per pound.

The dollar fell to 107.98 Japanese yen from 108.97 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1145 from $1.1125.

 

[bigdog]

Stocks powered to records Friday after an encouraging jobs report gave reassurance that the economy is still solid, despite the pain U.S. factories are feeling from President Donald Trump's trade war.

The Labor Department's report showed that employers added more jobs in October than economists expected, and hiring was stronger in prior months than previously thought. The numbers were encouraging enough for investors to overlook yet another report showing U.S. manufacturing is weakening more than expected.

The S&P 500 rose 29.35 points, or 1%, to 3,066.91 and set an all-time high for the third time this week. It capped a fourth straight week of gains, the longest winning streak for the index since the start of March.

The Nasdaq composite gained 94.04, or 1.1%, to 8,386.40 and clinched a record for the first time since July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 301.13, or 1.1%, to 27,347.36. It's within 12 points of the record it set in July.

Together, Friday's reports solidified Wall Street's view that the economy is nestled in a sweet spot for markets. The job market is strong enough to encourage spending by households, which has been the economy's driving force. That can hopefully make up for the downturn in investment by businesses, as CEOs hold off on spending given all the uncertainty about global trade.

This posting will be one hour later from next week --- 3 Nov 2019 - New York Daylight Saving Time Ends

Chart DOW vs AORD

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...an-shares-mixed-on-new-us-china-trade-jitters

Stocks Hit Records as Strong Jobs Report Calms Trade Worries
Stocks powered to records Friday after a surprisingly strong jobs report reassured investors that the economy is still solid, despite the pain U.S. factories are feeling from President Donald Trump's trade war.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Nov. 1, 2019, at 4:29 p.m.

By STAN CHOE and DAMIAN J. TROISE, AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks powered to records Friday after an encouraging jobs report gave reassurance that the economy is still solid, despite the pain U.S. factories are feeling from President Donald Trump's trade war.

The Labor Department's report showed that employers added more jobs in October than economists expected, and hiring was stronger in prior months than previously thought. The numbers were encouraging enough for investors to overlook yet another report showing U.S. manufacturing is weakening more than expected.

The S&P 500 rose 29.35 points, or 1%, to 3,066.91 and set an all-time high for the third time this week. It capped a fourth straight week of gains, the longest winning streak for the index since the start of March.

The Nasdaq composite gained 94.04, or 1.1%, to 8,386.40 and clinched a record for the first time since July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 301.13, or 1.1%, to 27,347.36. It's within 12 points of the record it set in July.

Together, Friday's reports solidified Wall Street's view that the economy is nestled in a sweet spot for markets. The job market is strong enough to encourage spending by households, which has been the economy's driving force. That can hopefully make up for the downturn in investment by businesses, as CEOs hold off on spending given all the uncertainty about global trade.

Such a balance should in turn keep the Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady at their low levels, after it cut rates earlier in the week for the third time this year, economists said. Low interest rates can goose economic activity. They also make stocks more attractive as investments relative to bonds.

Treasury yields climbed as optimism rose and traders pared back bets that the Fed will cut interest rates again in the next few months. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 1.71% from 1.69% late Thursday. The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations of Fed actions, rose to 1.56% from 1.55%.

Earlier in the day, yields were under pressure immediately after the manufacturing report's release, which showed a third straight month of contraction. The report echoed weak data points on manufacturing from around the world as factories feel the brunt of the global trade war.

But even there, economists see some glimmers of optimism, such as a rebound in export orders, said Derek Hamilton, global economist at Ivy Investments. And after combining them with Friday's better-than-expected jobs report, investors halved their expectations for another Fed rate cut this year, down to a probability of 11% from 22% a day earlier.

"Over the last decade, we've had these mini-cycles where manufacturing activity slows quite a bit, but the consumer keeps the economy going, and I think that's what's going on right now," Hamilton said.

The wild card, as has been the case since Trump professed in early 2018 that trade wars are good and easy to win, is what happens in U.S.-China trade talks. The world's largest economies have agreed to at least a temporary truce in what Trump has dubbed "phase one" of a trade deal. But uncertainty reigns over what will come of the talks.

"If we wake up tomorrow morning and get a tweet from President Trump that the deal is off, we're raising tariffs, then all this is out the window," Hamilton said.

In the interim, companies have continued to report profits that are weaker than a year earlier, but not as bad as Wall Street had expected. So far, roughly 70% of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported how much they made from July through September, and the index is on pace for a decline of 2.8%, according to FactSet.

The slowing global economy is a big reason for the drop, as is the fact that companies are no longer getting a boost from the first year of lower tax rates. But the drop isn't as bad as the 4% decline that analysts were forecasting earlier.

A stronger-than-expected profit report from Exxon Mobil helped drive energy stocks to the biggest gain of the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500. Exxon Mobil climbed 3%, and energy stocks overall rose 2.5%.

In overseas stock markets, London's FTSE 100 rose 0.7%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.6% and Germany's DAX returned 0.7%. The Kospi in South Korea gained 0.8%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.7% and Japan's Nikkei 225 was an outlier, down 0.3%.

Benchmark crude oil rose $2.02 to settle at $56.20 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose $2.07 to $61.69 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 6 cents to $1.66 per gallon. Heating oil climbed 6 cents to $1.93 per gallon. Natural gas rose 8 cents to $2.71 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $3.40 to $1,508.00 per ounce, silver fell 1 cent to $18.00 per ounce and copper rose 2 cents to $2.65 per pound.

The dollar rose to 108.26 Japanese yen from 107.98 yen on Thursday. The euro strengthened to $1.1163 from $1.1145.

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