The Closing Bell: U.S. Stocks Resume Their Rise On Trade Hopes

Ted

The Closing Bell will be updated sometime after 4:00 PM CDST to include the latest updates from IBD and Bloomberg Evening Briefing.)

FYI: The S&P 500 inched higher Wednesday, supported by optimism about trade negotiations and upbeat service-sector economic figures from Europe and China.

The benchmark equity gauge was recently up 0.21% and on track for a fifth consecutive advance, after earlier climbing as much as 0.6%. The index has rebounded 15% so far this year, climbing to its highest level since early October and pulling within about 2% of last year’s all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 39 points, or 0.15%, to 26218. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0..60%.

Progress on U.S.-China trade talks and caution from central banks around the world have eased fears of a far-reaching economic slowdown, supporting stocks and other risky investments. Wednesday’s advance came after the Financial Times reported the U.S. and China have resolved most of the sticking points preventing an agreement to end their monthslong tariff dispute.

Materials shares tied to the health of the economy were among the market’s best performers, with the S&P 500 materials sector adding 1.4%.

Makers of semiconductors reliant on trade flows and Chinese demand also surged, with shares of Applied Materials , Micron Technology and Advanced Micro Devices each adding more than 3.5%.

Treasury yields also rose Wednesday with investors feeling more optimistic about global growth. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed to 2.519%, according to Tradeweb, from 2.478% a day earlier, continuing a recent rebound after dipping to a 15-month low late last month. Bond yields climb as prices fall.

Investors were looking ahead to Friday’s jobs report for the latest update on U.S. growth. Figures Wednesday showed the U.S. private sector added 129,000 jobs in March, according to ADP, well below expectations, while the U.S. services sector expanded at a slower pace than expected in March.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 1%. Investors were monitoring the latest Brexit developments after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said late Tuesday she would seek bipartisan talks with the opposition Labour Party to try to break a deadlock on the country’s departure from the European Union.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average gained 1% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rallied 1.2%.

Of the eleven S&P 500 Sectors five led by Materials and Consumer Discretionary were up, while Energy and Consumer Staples along with other four sectors finished in negative territory.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-03/your-evening-briefing

MarketWatch:

WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-resume-climb-on-trade-hopes-11554278459

Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-02/asia-stocks-face-mixed-start-treasuries-climb-markets-wrap

IBD
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/nasdaq-hits-6-month-high-surging-stocks/

Reuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/chip-index-at-record-boosts-wall-street-as-trade-hopes-build-idUSKCN1RF1DD

CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/03/stock-market-futures-rise-on-hopes-us-china-are-close-to-trade-deal.html

U.K.:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-clings-to-six-month-high-as-potential-further-brexit-delay-lifts-mood-idUKKCN1RF0P0

Europe:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-rise-on-hopes-around-u-s-china-deal-and-brexit-idUSKCN1RF0S0

Asia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-rise-on-report-of-us-china-trade-deal-progress-2019-04-02/print

Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/03/bond-market-treasury-yields-jump-on-us-china-trade-deal-hopes.html

Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/03/forex-market-dollar-moves-us-bond-yields-in-focus.html

Oil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/03/oil-market-us-sanctions-opec-supply-cuts-in-focus.html

Gold
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/03/gold-market-brexit-uncertainty-us-china-trade-talks-in-focus.html

WSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/us

Major ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitor

SPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-tracker

SPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectors

Current Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx