US close: Markets buoyed by Trump comments on China trade
Wall Street trading finished on a positive note on Wednesday, even as Donald Trump faced a formal impeachment inquiry, after the president suggested a trade deal with China could be closer than markets were anticipating.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 0.61% at 26,970.71, the S&P 500 added 0.62% to 2,984.87, and the Nasdaq 100 was 1.21% firmer at 7,803.54.
At the open, the Dow had gained 76.89 points, after stocks closed lower on Tuesday following Trump's speech at the United Nations, in which he hit out at Iran and China.
Shortly after that address, the US House of Representatives officially launched an impeachment inquiry into the President.
The inquiry came amid concerns over Trump's efforts to push Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on multiple occasions to investigate the family of former Vice President Joe Biden - one of his main rivals for the presidency in 2020.
Trump allegedly probed the business dealings of Biden's son, Hunter, with some reports suggesting he held up aid to Ukraine as he demanded the nation undertake an investigation into Biden.
However, what effect the inquiry will have on Trump was unclear given that any impeachment process must be approved by the Republican-dominated Senate in order for the president to be convicted and removed from office.
Markets were buoyed late Wednesday, however, after the president told reporters that a deal to bring the ongoing trade war with China to a close could be “sooner than you think”.
Trump added a suggestion that Washington retained the upper hand in negotiations, saying that Beijing was looking “to make a deal very badly”.
On the data front, higher interest rates over the last two weeks led to subdued mortgage applications across the US, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Applications to refinance a home loan fell 15% for the week ended 20 September, while applications to purchase a home fell 3% week-on-week but were still a solid 9% higher year-on-year.
Elsewhere, sales of new US homes jumped more than expected during August, indicating that the struggling housing market had started to get a boost from lower mortgage rates.
New home sales increased 7.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 713,000 units last month, according to the Commerce Department, boosted by a surge in activity in the South and West.
July's sales pace was revised up to 666,000 from 635,000.
In corporate news, Philip Morris International and Altria shares were mixed, with the former rising 5.2% and the latter sliding into the red by 0.42%.
The pair called off merger talks on Wednesday, after announcing last month that they were in discussions about a potential all-stock merger more than a decade after Philip Morris International was spun off from Altria, which retains the Philip Morris brands in the United States.
Nike shares were ahead 4.16%, following some better than expected quarterly results.
Dow Jones - Risers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $90.81 4.16%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $51.02 2.41%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $221.03 1.54%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $139.36 1.44%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $54.36 1.36%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $228.10 1.19%
Boeing Co. (BA) $386.20 1.19%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $210.00 1.10%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $143.20 1.04%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $136.83 1.00%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $222.17 -1.26%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $83.10 -0.60%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $123.02 -0.48%
3M Co. (MMM) $164.00 -0.45%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $130.99 -0.43%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $60.27 -0.40%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.90 -0.31%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $54.17 -0.24%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $123.54 -0.19%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
S&P 500 - Risers
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $60.15 8.42%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $266.62 5.74%
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) $75.28 5.20%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $90.81 4.16%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $264.75 3.99%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $22.28 3.34%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $134.22 3.32%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $178.23 3.30%
Svb Financial Group (SIVB) $214.05 3.09%
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $35.04 3.00%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $246.01 -3.44%
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $46.89 -2.68%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $267.59 -2.65%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $75.07 -2.44%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $275.77 -2.32%
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $76.77 -2.28%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $128.16 -2.04%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $17.58 -2.01%
Medtronic Plc (MDT) $107.62 -1.95%
Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc (ZBH) $137.36 -1.93%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $266.62 5.74%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $102.80 5.32%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $264.75 3.99%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $178.23 3.30%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $58.74 2.78%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $551.87 2.71%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $77.26 2.70%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $25.40 2.65%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $93.01 2.61%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $160.59 2.61%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $75.07 -2.44%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $275.77 -2.32%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $235.54 -1.65%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $147.43 -1.14%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $286.65 -1.06%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $39.24 -0.80%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $58.37 -0.75%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $171.50 -0.59%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $64.20 -0.56%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $71.78 -0.47%