U.S. stock markets closed higher on Thursday as market participants weighed the outcome of the U.S.-China trade talks. A softer-then-expected key inflation data and a weak labor market data bolstered investors’ sentiment. All three major stock indexes ended in positive territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.2% or 101.85 points to close at 42,967.62. Notably, 19 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory and 11 finished in negative zone. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 19,662.48, advancing 0.2% due to strong performance of technology bigwigs.
AI-based semiconductor giants like NVIDIA Corp. NVDA and Broadcom Inc. AVGO rose 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively. Both stocks currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The S&P 500 gained 0.3% to finish at 6,045.26. Wall Street’s most observed benchmark is currently less than 2% away from its all-time high. Seven out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory while three in negative zone and one remained unchanged.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) and the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) rose 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively. On the other hand, the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLE) fell 0.8%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 4.4% to 18.02. A total of 23.5 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 18 billion. The S&P 500 recorded 12 new 52-week highs and 3 new 52-week lows. The Nasdaq registered 54 new 52-week highs and 63 new 52-week lows.
The United States and China reached an agreement for trade and tariffs in London. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said “We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between the two presidents.” This was echoed by Li Chenggang, China’s international trade representative and a vice minister at China’s Commerce Ministry.
President Donald Trump said that the deal with China is “done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me.” U.S. was seeking confirmation that China would restore critical mineral (rare earth) exports. Beijing protested against the U.S. Commerce Department’s warnings to U.S. chipset manufacturers against using Chinese semiconductors. On May 12, the United States and China have decided to for a 90-day pause of tariff implementations.
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