Indexes Takes Flight, Post first 4-Wk. Gain since August
January 18,2019 4:22 PM EST
Stocks rose on Friday as investors cheered potential progress in trade negotiations between China and the U.S.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average powered higher 336.25 points, or 1.4%, to end Friday and the week at 24,706.35, led by gains in UnitedHealth and Home Depot.
The 30-stock index is enjoying a gain of more than 1,350 points on the year so far.
The S&P 500 gained 34.75 points, or 1.3%, to 2,670.71, trading out of correction territory, as the materials and industrials sectors outperformed.
The Dow and S&P 500 posted their fourth straight week of gains, their longest streak since August. They both gained more than 2%.
The NASDAQ Composite rumbled higher 72.76 points, or 1%, to 7,157.23
Markets in the States will be closed Monday for Martin Luther King Day.
The major averages jumped to their highs of the day after sources told the media that China had offered a six-year increase in U.S. imports during recent trade talks. Bloomberg News reported on Friday that the deal would aim to reduce the annual U.S. deficit to zero by 2024.
Shares of Boeing and Caterpillar both closed more than 1.5% higher. Deere climbed more than 2.5%.
The gains come as the corporate earnings season kicks off. Major banks like J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs all released their quarterly results this week.
Most recently, Netflix reported better-than-expected earnings, boosted by stronger-than-forecast subscriber growth. However, the stock fell 1.8% on the back of disappointing guidance for the first quarter of 2019.
Dow member American Express also fell after reporting disappointing earnings.
Manufacturing data released by the Federal Reserve also showed the sector''s biggest gain in 10 months in December. Those numbers were boosted by strong production in motor vehicles and other goods.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury dipped sharply, lifting yields to 2.79% from Thursday''s 2.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices vaulted $1.61 to $53.68 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $11.80 to $1,280.50 U.S. an ounce.
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