Stocks Climb as Trump Suggests a Trade Deal Is Near
13 December 2019 - 3:11AM
Dow Jones News
By Alexander Osipovich and Caitlin Ostroff
Stocks climbed Thursday after President Trump said on Twitter
that the U.S. and China are nearing a trade deal.
Major indexes opened slightly lower but jumped after Mr. Trump
tweeted, "Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China. They want
it, and so do we!"
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 263 points, or 0.9%, in
morning trading. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both
climbed 1%. All three indexes hit intraday records.
The tweet came ahead of a Sunday deadline, in which a fresh
round of tariffs are set to go into effect on roughly $156 billion
of Chinese goods.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday morning that U.S.
negotiators offer to cut existing tariff rates by up to 50% on $360
billion of Chinese imports, citing people familiar with the matter.
The negotiators also offered to cancel the new tariffs set to take
effect Dec. 15, those people said.
The tariffs, which threaten to deepen China's economic problems
and prompt retaliatory action, could weigh on prices of cellphones,
laptops and apparel for American consumers.
Investors sold government bonds in favor of riskier assets after
Mr. Trump's tweet. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose
to 1.878%, from 1.786% on Wednesday. Bond yields move in the
opposite direction from prices.
Gold futures slipped 0.1%, while U.S. crude oil futures gained
1%.
"We're in a waiting pattern, given the looming trade deadline,"
said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at
Charles Schwab. "The markets are keying off any indication as to
whether we'll get a deal, perhaps more than they should."
The Labor Department said early Thursday that the number of
Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits jumped to
the highest level in more than two years. The report contrasted
with other recent data showing a strong U.S. jobs market. But
initial jobless claims can be volatile, and jitters over the report
were quickly dispelled by optimism over trade.
Investors are also closely watching the U.K.'s general election,
as voters go to the polls to determine whether Prime Minister Boris
Johnson will remain in office.
The FTSE 100 was up 1.2%, outpacing other European markets,
while the pound fell 0.3% against the dollar.
Politicians in both the major political parties are signaling an
end to years of constrained fiscal policy as the country prepares
to exit from the European Union, and the vote results will play a
crucial role in determining the course of Brexit. While a
parliamentary majority for the Conservative Party is seen as most
likely, recent polls have shown that Mr. Johnson's lead has
narrowed.
Earlier in the day, the European Central Bank under its new
President Christine Lagarde left interest rates unchanged at minus
0.5%, a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve also held rates
steady.
The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.6%. Asian stocks were
mixed, with the Hang Seng rising 1.3% and the Shanghai Composite
Index falling 0.3%.
Write to Alexander Osipovich at alexander.osipovich@dowjones.com
and Caitlin Ostroff at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 12, 2019 10:56 ET (15:56 GMT)
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