US close: Markets finish higher as China talks of 'calm' trade resolution

Stocks finished higher in the US on Thursday, as China's desire to calmly wrap up its trade war with the US gave investor sentiment a much-needed boost.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 1.25% at 26,362.25, the S&P 500 added 1.27% to 2,924.58, and the Nasdaq 100 was 1.51% firmer at 7,702.31.

Following on a late rally during the previous session, the Dow had opened 257.69 higher after China's commerce ministry stated that it wanted to bring an end to its protracted trade dispute with the US in a "calm" manner.

China also said it was not interested in escalating tensions at the moment, hinting that it may not retaliate with tariffs of its own on Sunday, and that the two sides remained in contact with the aim of continuing negotiations, perhaps in September.

Beijing's comments seemingly did their part to soothe investors even as concerns regarding the possibility of a global recession remained in focus.

“The unfortunate reality is that these comments are likely more hot air but with everything that's happening at the moment, they do provide rays of hope,” noted Oanda's Crag Erlam.

On the data front, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose as expected last week, according to figures released by the Department of Labor on Thursday.

Initial jobless claims were up 4,000 from the previous week's revised level to 215,000, in line with analysts' expectations.

The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 209,000.

In other news, the US economy slowed by only a smidgen more than originally thought during the second quarter, revised data showed, but only thanks to the strongest showing for the American consumer in over half a decade.

According to the Department of Commerce, the annualised rate of growth in gross domestic product slowed from 3.1% in the first three months of 2019 to 2.0%, instead of the 2.1% pace announced in its preliminary estimate.

Commerce also revealed that America's shortfall in trade of goods with the rest of the world narrowed unexpectedly last month.

According to preliminary data, the US trade deficit in goods shrank from $74.2bn for June to £72.3bn in July. Economists had pencilled-in a reading of $74.0bn.

Exports rose at a month-on-month pace of 0.7% to reach $137.3bn while imports declined by 0.4% to $209.7bn.

Wholesale inventories grew at a 0.2% month-on-month clip in July to reach $679.4bn, putting them ahead by 7.1% versus a year ago, while retail inventories were up 0.8% on the month at $665.1bn.

Lastly, fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in July, indicating that the housing market had yet to reap the rewards of lower mortgage rates.

The National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index fell 2.5% to 105.6 in July.

In terms of corporate news, Best Buy shares were 8.03% weaker after posting a second-quarter earnings miss, while Dollar General stocks were up 10.68% after the retailer raised forecasts for the full year.

Trade bellwethers Boeing and Caterpillar both rose, by 0.77% and 2.52% respectively, while Micron Technology shares gained were 3.52% stronger.

Computing giant Dell Technologies was up 3.25% at the closing bell, but was more than 9% higher in after-hours trading after beating revenue estimates in its post-close results release.

Dow Jones - Risers

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $117.77 2.53%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $227.32 2.42%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.87 2.36%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $85.38 2.28%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $109.22 2.27%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $129.51 2.08%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $138.12 1.89%
3M Co. (MMM) $160.36 1.78%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $209.01 1.69%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $134.88 1.60%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $128.24 -0.34%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $121.18 -0.18%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $55.05 -0.11%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $57.94 -0.02%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $86.72 0.28%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $146.94 0.39%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $117.52 0.59%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.33 0.71%
Boeing Co. (BA) $362.74 0.77%

S&P 500 - Risers

Dollar General Corp (DG) $156.09 10.68%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $76.00 6.19%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $20.10 4.85%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $48.56 4.81%
United Rentals Inc. (URI) $111.32 4.70%
LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $75.33 4.60%
Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) $112.59 4.08%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $122.62 4.00%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $19.90 3.92%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $26.32 3.91%

S&P 500 - Fallers

H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $24.37 -9.34%
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $63.49 -7.99%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $44.25 -3.49%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $11.31 -2.16%
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) $72.72 -2.15%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $97.67 -1.94%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $40.11 -1.86%
Hershey Foods Corp. (HSY) $157.99 -1.55%
J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $102.83 -1.48%
Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $20.28 -1.02%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Mylan Inc. (MYL) $19.90 3.92%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $26.32 3.91%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $48.92 3.75%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $167.00 3.59%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $44.67 3.52%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $141.31 3.33%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $69.02 3.29%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $47.31 3.07%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $55.08 3.07%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $221.71 2.84%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $97.67 -1.94%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $57.61 -0.81%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $220.16 -0.41%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $97.11 -0.39%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $206.98 -0.26%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $179.20 0.00%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $63.75 0.17%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $125.73 0.31%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $178.98 0.36%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $385.44 0.45%