US markets end higher on Monday

17 Dec 2019 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Monday after the US and China finally reached an agreement on a phase one trade deal last week. The agreement, announced by US and Chinese officials last Friday, includes suspending planned tariffs on Chinese goods as well as scaling back existing tariffs in exchange for Chinese structural reforms and purchases of US goods. The trade deal eliminates a lot of the uncertainty hanging over the markets. Moreover, the agreement does not completely end the US-China trade war, as some tariffs will remain in place as negotiators begin phase two talks. All three main benchmarks set new intraday records on Monday.

On the economic data front, a report released by the National Association of Home Builders unexpectedly showed a substantial improvement in US homebuilder confidence in the month of December. The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index spiked to 76 in December from an upwardly revised 71 in November. Street had expected the index to come in unchanged compared to the 70 originally reported for the previous month. With the unexpected jump, the housing market index reached its highest level since hitting 77 in June of 1999. Besides, New York manufacturing activity has grown at a slightly faster rate in the month of December, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index inched up to 3.5 in December from 2.9 in November, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. Street had expected the index to rise to 4.0.

Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 100.51 points or 0.36 percent to 28235.89, Nasdaq rose 79.35 points or 0.91 percent to 8814.23 and S&P 500 was up by 22.65 points or 0.71 percent to 3191.45.

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