· Wall Street’s major indexes resumed their rally with fresh records on Thursday as U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said an initial U.S.-China trade deal would be signed in early January.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 137.68 points, or 0.49%, to 28,376.96, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 14.23 points, or 0.45%, to 3,205.37 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 59.48 points, or 0.67%, to8,887.22.
The benchmark S&P 500 hit a sixth straight all-time high, its longest streak since January 2018, and the Nasdaq ended with gains for the seventh session in a row. The S&P 500, Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average all notched record closing highs.
Mnuchin’s comments bolstered the optimism that has carried U.S. stocks higher since a trade agreement was announced last week. In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Mnuchin said the agreement had already been put down on paper and translated, and it would not be subject to renegotiation.
The comments relieved some concerns that disagreements between Washington and Beijing could once again keep the trade deal from being finalized, market analysts said.
· European stocks ended the shift mixed Thursday as investors digested economic data and interest rate decisions from central banks, with markets showing minimal reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered around the flatline all day, closing 0.09% higher.
The Bank of England held its main interest rate steady at 0.75% with its rate-setting committee voting 7-2 in favor of keeping the current level, and cut its fourth-quarter U.K. GDP growth forecast from +0.2% to +0.1%.
The central bank maintained the dovish stance exhibited after its previous meeting, commenting in an accompanying statement: “If global growth fails to stabilize or Brexit uncertainties remain entrenched, monetary policy may need to reinforce the expected U.K. recovery.”
· Asia stocks were little changed in morning trade on Friday, as U.S. markets broke a new record, with positive news on the trade front further boosting sentiment.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was flat in early trade, and its Topix index edged down 0.15%. The country’s core consumer inflation rose 0.5% in November from a year earlier, according to government data on Friday — still far from its elusive 2% target.
In South Korea, the Kospi was almost flat. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.22% in the morning.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat.
Ahead, the People’s Bank of China is set to announce the monthly fixing of its loan prime rate on Friday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday is also set to announce measures targeted at diversifying Macau’s casino-dependent economy. Those are expected to include a new yuan-denominated stock exchange, according to a Reuters report.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
Thai
Eng