· Dow closes above 29,000 after China and U.S. sign trade truce
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.31% to 29,030.22 points, ending above 29,000 for the first time.
The S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.19% to 3,289.3, its highest ever close.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.08% to 9,258.70, just short of its record high close set on Monday.
The Dow ended above 29,000 for the first time on Wednesday and the S&P 500 also closed at a record high after the United States and China signed a Phase 1 trade agreement and pledged to resolve a tariff dispute that has roiled Wall Street for over a year.
The centerpiece of the truce is a pledge by China to purchase at least an additional $200 billion worth of U.S. farm products and other goods and services over two years, over a baseline of $186 billion in purchases in 2017.
The trade agreement clears the way for investors to focus on upcoming quarterly earnings reports, including the outlooks companies provide in light of the deal.
Trump said he would remove all U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports as soon as the two countries complete a Phase 2 trade agreement, on which negotiations will start soon.
· Asia markets saw muted gains on Thursday after the United States and China ended some uncertainties for the world economy by signing a partial trade agreement.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.12% to 23,944.73 after the first half-hour of trade while the Topix index was fractionally lower at 1,729.59.
In South Korea, the Kospi index traded flat, but tech giant Samsung Electronics advanced 1.19% while Hyundai Motor rose 3.91%.
Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.49%, with most sectors trading up. The heavily-weighted financial subindex rose 0.75% as the country’s major banking stocks advanced.
Still, some analysts say the agreement is ‘fragile’ and that more tariffs remain a possibility.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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