US close: Stocks finish at record highs as US and China sign trade deal

Wall Street indices finished at record highs on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones closing above the 29,000 point barrier as investors cheered the signing of Washington and Beijing's "phase one" trade agreement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.31% at 29,030.22, the S&P 500 added 0.19% to 3,289.29, and the Nasdaq Composite eked out gains of 0.08% to settle at 9,258.70.

At the open, the Dow was 131.49 points firmer on Wednesday after seeing out the previous session higher, following a slew of earnings from some of the country's biggest lenders.

Market participants had a close eye on the trade deal signing throughout the session, with the text of the deal including pledges from Beijing to increase the country’s purchases of US agricultural, energy and manufacturing products and services by more than $200bn over two years.

The deal specifically pointed out that “the parties acknowledge that purchases will be made at market prices based on commercial considerations”.

Beijing also agreed to enforce intellectual property regulations, and back a “bilateral evaluation and dispute resolution arrangement” that would see the two countries work in partnership to deal with disputes over copyright, intellectual property and patents.

US president Donald Trump described the signing as “a great deal for both countries” at the signing ceremony, with China’s vice-premier Liu He calling it a “landmark agreement”.

Also lifting sentiment were comments made by White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow that the Trump administration would unveil more tax cuts later in the year.

On the data front, producer prices in the US rose slightly less quickly than anticipated last month due to the drag from trade services prices.

According to the Department of Labor, so-called final demand prices edged up at a month-on-month pace of 0.1% in December, missing consensus expectations for 0.2%, with the year-on-year rate of change remaining at 1.3%, in line with consensus.

Elsewhere, a closely-followed gauge of factory sector conditions in the jurisdiction of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York continued to outperform national manufacturing sector gauges like that from the Institute for Supply Management.

The so-called Empire State index edged up from a reading of 3.3 for December to 4.8 in January, edging past economists' forecasts for a rise to 4.0.

Wednesday's survey results only served to widen the gap in place versus the ISM measure, given the New York area's much lower exposure to the US-China trade war.

Earnings season was in focus too, with more results from some of the US' biggest banks - Goldman Sachs and Bank of America - both topping Wall Street estimates with their latest quarterly results.

Goldman Sachs dipped below the waterline by the end of the session, however, to close down 0.18%, while Bank of America was off 1.81%.

Discount retail giant Target fell 6.59% after the retailer posted some disappointing holiday same-store sales figures.

On the upside, healthcare provider UnitedHealth Group was ahead 2.83% after it announced fourth quarter earnings that beat Street forecasts, although growth in sales missed slightly.

Investment manager BlackRock was 2.17% firmer after it posted a 40% rise in quarterly net profits, with its earnings per share exceeding consensus expectations.

Dow Jones - Risers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $296.43 2.83%
Visa Inc. (V) $199.80 1.91%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $91.54 1.79%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $40.67 1.50%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $56.70 1.25%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $209.77 1.18%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $125.96 1.02%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $224.59 0.80%
American Express Co. (AXP) $129.82 0.79%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $137.57 0.67%

Dow Jones - Fallers

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $136.72 -1.50%
3M Co. (MMM) $179.78 -0.88%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $58.94 -0.82%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $115.28 -0.77%
Boeing Co. (BA) $329.80 -0.77%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $145.57 -0.76%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $144.32 -0.61%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $311.34 -0.43%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $54.43 -0.35%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $245.21 -0.18%

S&P 500 - Risers

Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $11.37 6.26%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $22.05 4.01%
Mohawk Inds Inc. (MHK) $137.50 3.71%
Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $177.92 3.00%
Amerisource Bergen Corp. (ABC) $91.37 2.86%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $296.43 2.83%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $58.52 2.83%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $27.50 2.69%
Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) $53.81 2.59%
Edison International (EIX) $76.93 2.53%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $23.49 -15.99%
Target Corp. (TGT) $117.00 -6.59%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $274.10 -4.70%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $14.00 -4.63%
HollyFrontier Corp (HFC) $46.64 -3.87%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $20.18 -3.77%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $66.67 -3.67%
PNC Financial Services Group (PNC) $154.08 -3.63%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $92.26 -3.29%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $38.33 -3.04%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Mylan Inc. (MYL) $22.05 4.01%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $27.50 2.69%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $234.15 1.92%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $21.39 1.76%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $288.49 1.57%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $68.50 1.53%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $20.50 1.33%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $659.98 1.21%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $515.74 1.13%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $158.65 1.13%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $274.10 -4.70%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $66.67 -3.67%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $518.50 -3.61%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $37.56 -2.44%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $120.42 -2.37%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $56.17 -2.35%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $107.58 -2.31%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $276.20 -2.27%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $103.03 -2.11%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $293.09 -1.97%