The US markets closed higher on Thursday, as gains in the Consumer Goods, Healthcare and Utilities sectors led shares higher. US President Donald Trump hailed great progress in talks with North Korea after agreeing to meet Kim Jong Un in what would be an unprecedented summit. President Donald Trump pressed ahead with the imposition of 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum on Thursday but exempted Canada and Mexico, backtracking from earlier pledges of tariffs on all countries.
On the economy front, US economic growth for the fourth quarter is likely to be revised higher after data indicated more spending on services than previously estimated by the government. The Commerce Department’s quarterly services survey, or QSS, added to December data on construction spending and manufacturers’ inventories is suggesting that gross domestic product grew much faster than the 2.5 percent annualized rate reported by the government in its second estimate last month. Meanwhile, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rebounded last week from a more than 48-year low, but the trend continued to point to robust labor market conditions. That was underscored by other data showing job cuts announced by US-based employers fell 20 percent in February. Federal Reserve officials consider the labor market to be near or a little beyond full employment. The tight jobs market is seen boosting wage growth and spurring inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 93.85 points or 0.38 percent to 24,895.21, Nasdaq gained 31.297 points or 0.42 percent to 7,427.95, and the S&P 500 was up by 12.17 points or 0.45 percent to 2,738.97.
