US Stocks Extend Rally on Trade Talks Optimism

January 8, 2019
US Stocks Extend Rally on Trade Talks Optimism

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to extend the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions.

Optimism about trade talks between the U.S. and China may continue to generate buying interest on Wall Street amid a second day of meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials.

The second day of negotiations coincided with an unannounced visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with some analysts saying China could use Kim?s visit as a bargaining chip in the trade talks.

In a post on Twitter this morning, President Donald Trump claimed, ?Talks with China are going very well!?

Traders remain skeptical about the potential for a long-term trade deal, however, potentially keeping buying interest somewhat subdued.

A relatively quiet day on the U.S. economic front may also keep some traders on the sidelines amid the ongoing government shutdown.

Following the substantial rally seen last Friday, stocks saw some further upside over the course of the trading session on Monday. With the upward move, the major averages continued to offset the sell-off seen last month.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels in afternoon trading but remained firmly positive. The Dow rose 98.19 points or 0.4 percent to 23,531.35, the Nasdaq surged up 84.61 points or 1.3 percent to 6,823.57 and the S&P 500 climbed 17.75 points or 1.7 percent to 2,549.69.

The continued strength on Wall Street partly reflected optimism about high-level trade talks between the U.S. and China in Beijing.

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish is leading the U.S. team at the two-day meeting, with a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry predicting “positive and constructive discussions.”

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing growth in U.S. service sector activity slowed by more than anticipated in the month of December.

The ISM said its non-manufacturing index dropped to 57.6 in December after inching up to 60.7 in November. While a reading above 50 still indicates service sector growth, economists had expected the index to dip to 59.0.

“The non-manufacturing sector’s growth rate cooled off in December,” said Anthony Nieves, Chair of the ISM Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. “Respondents indicate that there still is concern about tariffs, despite the hold on increases by the U.S. and China.”

Last Thursday, the ISM released a separate report showing a notable slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing activity in December

The purchasing managers index tumbled to 54.1 in December after rising to 59.3 in November, hitting its lowest level since November of 2016. Economists had expected the index to slip to 57.9.

Oil service stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, resulting in a 4.4 percent spike by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The rally by oil service stocks comes amid an increase by the price of crude oil.

Considerable strength was also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 3.4 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.

Loxo Oncology (LOXO) led the sector higher after the biopharmaceutical company agreed to be acquired by drug giant Eli Lilly (LLY) for $235 per share in cash or approximately $8 billion.

Retail stocks also turned in a particularly strong performance on the day, driving the Dow Jones Retail Index up by 2.7 percent.

Natural gas, semiconductor, networking and computer hardware stocks also saw significant strength, while gold and utilities stocks bucked the uptrend.

Dipo Olowookere

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan.

Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

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