US close: Markets in the green as Boeing chief steps down
Wall Street stocks turned in another round of record closes on Monday, ahead of the Christmas break in trading later in the week and as investors reacted to the news of the immediate departure of Boeing’s chief executive officer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.34% at 28,551.53, the S&P 500 added 0.09% to 3,224.01, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.23% firmer at 8,945.65.
For the Nasdaq, it marked the longest series of consecutive record closes since 1998.
The Dow had opened 101.08 points higher after it saw out the previous week in the green, as the Street's main boards once again registered record closes across all three indices.
Donald Trump took to Twitter on Friday to announce that he had held a "very good talk" with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping regarding the recently reached "phase one" trade deal, boosting sentiment amongst investors ahead of the holiday break.
China's finance ministry followed on Monday with an announcement that it would reduce import tariffs on more than 850 imported products from 1 January, as part of an effort to boost domestic demand and open up its economy.
The list of 859 products included food and consumer goods, with iPhone parts and some drugs included among the latter.
According to Bloomberg, products on the list accounted for approximately $389.09bn of the country's purchases from overseas in 2018.
“The move by China appears to be partly driven by a domestic shortage, and partly by a desire to build bridges with the US,” said CMC Markets analyst David Madden.
“Either way it is a step in the right direction for the trading relationship of the two largest economies in the world.
“As it is Christmas week, market volatility is low, and trading ranges are small, so it is possible today's movements are not a true reflection of market sentiment.”
Elsewhere, the President invited British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the White House in 2020, amid hopes of a transatlantic trade deal following the UK's proposed departure from the European Union on 31 January.
On the data front, orders for durable goods recorded their biggest fall in six months during November - dropping 2% on the back of declining sales of defence aircraft and parts, according to the Department of Commerce.
Economists had expected a 1% rebound in durable goods orders in November due to the wrapping of the General Motors strike.
Orders in October were revised down to a 0.2% gain from the previous estimate of a 0.5% increase.
Elsewhere, sales of new US single-family homes grew in November, indicating that low mortgage rates were continuing to support the housing market, according to the Commerce Department.
New home sales bounced back 1.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 719,000 units last month, buoyed by increases in the northeast and west of the country.
October's sales pace was revised down to 710,000 units from the previously reported 733,000 units.
In company news, Boeing shares flew higher after the aerospace giant ousted chief executive Dennis Muilenburg.
He would be succeeded by chairman David Calhoun as president and CEO on 13 January.
The beleaguered aircraft maker’s chief financial officer Greg Smith was stepping in as interim CEO “while Mr Calhoun exits his non-Boeing commitments,” the firm said in its statement.
Boeing has been under pressure as the 737 MAX - its best selling airliner - remains grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes in late 2018 and earlier in 2019, caused by faults in sensors fitted to the aircraft which many experts have put down to design flaws.
At the close, Boeing shares were up 2.91%.
In other corporate news, oil and gas exploration company Apache Corporation was up 17.29% after it announced a deal to acquire a 50% working interest in Block 58 of the Guyana-Suriname basin with French oil major Total.
Pharmacy retail chain Rite Aid was 6.99% firmer after its chief operating officer said in-store sales of ice cream contributed to its better-than-expected earnings in the third quarter.
Dow Jones - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $337.55 2.91%
3M Co. (MMM) $178.47 1.77%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $284.00 1.63%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.10 1.37%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $295.09 0.85%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $148.50 0.63%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $120.33 0.54%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $70.29 0.50%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $59.23 0.47%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $58.57 0.31%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $144.68 -1.50%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $61.40 -1.08%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $119.03 -1.05%
American Express Co. (AXP) $124.49 -1.02%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $219.21 -0.90%
Visa Inc. (V) $187.08 -0.49%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $196.20 -0.48%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $124.90 -0.37%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $136.23 -0.15%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $54.91 -0.11%
S&P 500 - Risers
Apache Corp. (APA) $26.53 17.29%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $19.28 5.01%
Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $170.44 4.64%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $21.22 3.46%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $40.79 3.45%
Hess Corp. (HES) $66.89 3.16%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $25.08 3.08%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $26.23 2.98%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $45.46 2.97%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $72.43 2.94%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $11.01 -4.09%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $89.18 -3.81%
ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $34.02 -2.99%
Assurant Inc. (AIZ) $127.94 -2.53%
Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (WLTW) $201.58 -1.97%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $108.00 -1.89%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $38.90 -1.82%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $55.64 -1.77%
Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL) $63.02 -1.76%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $92.44 -1.72%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $419.22 3.36%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $36.26 2.69%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $62.70 2.60%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $8.14 2.01%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $278.14 1.92%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $284.00 1.63%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $140.23 1.58%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $105.21 1.56%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $85.99 1.46%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.10 1.37%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $108.00 -1.89%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $92.44 -1.72%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $7.09 -1.25%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $54.73 -1.21%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $122.12 -1.21%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $61.08 -1.18%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $333.10 -1.13%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $294.45 -1.00%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $62.63 -0.93%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $31.92 -0.93%