U.S. Stock ETFs Inch Higher as Mixed Economic Data Mute Gains
September 23, 2019
US STOCKS-Wall St buoyed by Apple; trade concerns, mixed PMI cap gains
September 25, 2019(Reuters) – U.S. stock indexes rose on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said a trade deal with China could happen sooner than expected, while Nike’s shares hit a record high on upbeat quarterly results.
Wall Street had a sluggish start after Democratic lawmakers moved to launch an impeachment inquiry into Trump, adding fresh uncertainty for markets already roiled by the U.S.-China trade tussle and worries over slowing global economic growth.
Trump’s comments were in contrast to his harsh rhetoric on Tuesday on the trade dispute, which rattled global stock markets on Wednesday.
“This is just part of his rhetoric, it changes one day to the next. We just have to wait and see if this will really happen,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
Nike Inc (NKE.N) shares jumped 5.1% to a record high, and were among the top boosts to the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI and the S&P 500 .SPX after the company’s first-quarter results beat market expectations.
Footwear retailer Foot Locker Inc (FL.N) gained 3.3%.
Shares in Philip Morris (PM.N) surged 6.2% after the tobacco company called off merger talks with Altria Group Inc (MO.N) and said it would instead focus on the U.S. launch of its tobacco-heating product, iQOS.
Boeing Co (BA.N) rose 1.7%, after the aircraft maker said it created a new permanent safety committee in the aftermath of two fatal 737 MAX crashes.
At 11:36 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 132.49 points, or 0.49%, at 26,940.26, while the S&P 500 .SPX was up 5.87 points, or 0.20%, at 2,972.47. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 14.06 points, or 0.18%, at 8,007.69.
Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N) rose 6.3% and was among the top gainers on the S&P 500 after activist investor Elliott Management renewed its demand for splitting into three companies.
Chipmaker Broadcom Inc (AVGO.O) dropped 3.3% and was the biggest loser on the S&P 500 after it priced an upsized offering of convertible preferred stock.
Data showed that sales of new U.S. single-family homes rebounded more than expected in August, a sign that the struggling housing market was starting to get a lift from lower borrowing rates.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.13-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.17-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 4 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 10 new highs and 80 new lows.
