MARKET SNAPSHOT: S&P 500 Ends Within 1% Of Record Ahead Of Pivotal Fed Meeting
June 18 2019 - 4:41PM
Dow Jones News
By Mark DeCambre, MarketWatch
Trump tweets plan for 'extended meeting' with Chinese President
Xi
The Dow and S&P 500 on Tuesday finished at their highest
levels in about six weeks ahead of a key Federal Reserve decision,
as President Donald Trump tweeted that he had a productive
conversation with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
How are benchmarks faring?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 353.01 points, or 1.4%, at
26,465.54, putting the benchmark within 1.4% of its Oct. 3 all-time
closing high, the S&P 500 index advanced 28.08 points, or 1%,
at 2,917.75, placing the index within 1% of its April 30 record at
2,945.83, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 108.86 points,
or 1.4%, at 7,953.88, according to FactSet data.
The finish for all three benchmarks represented the highest
closes since at least May 7, according to Dow Jones Market
Data.
What's driving the market?
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said over Twitter
(https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1140977371421564928)
that there will be an "extended meeting" with President Xi Jinping
of China
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-announces-extended-meeting-with-xi-at-the-g-20-2019-06-18)
at the Group of 20 meeting in Japan. Reports from Bloomberg News
also confirmed a plan for the two leaders to meet on the sidelines
of the gathering of developed global leaders.
The tweet comes after U.S.-Chinese trade talks had stalled, and
there had been doubt over whether an additional 25% tariff on more
than $300 billion in Chinese goods would go into effect soon,
further escalating the protracted Sino-American trade
confrontation, which has hobbled global markets.
Read:'Currency war' fears rise as Trump slams Draghi's hint at
more ECB stimulus
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/currency-war-fears-rise-as-trump-slams-draghis-hint-at-more-ecb-stimulus-2019-06-18)
Equity indexes were already buoyant after ECB President Mario
Draghi at an annual central bank conference in Sintra, Portugal
said policy makers would consider "in the coming weeks" how to
adapt its policy tools "commensurate to the severity of the risk"
to the economic outlook, a signal that the central bank may be
willing to lower rates. The central banker's remarks sent the euro
sliding against the U.S. dollar.
Draghi's comments come as the Fed is set to deliver an important
policy decision, with expectations that policy makers will indicate
a willingness to reduce benchmark borrowing costs this year amid
global trade tensions, a slowdown in the global economy as well as
in the U.S. Investors want to see if those expectations match up to
what the Fed is thinking, though no move on interest rates is
expected at this week's meeting.
What are strategists saying?
"The prospect of 'additional stimulus' jolted stock markets
higher, and it appears the ECB is following in the Fed's footsteps
of using dovish language," wrote David Madden, market analyst at
CMC Markets UK, in a Tuesday research note.
"If the Fed doesn't appear sufficiently dovish -- including
taking the word "patient" out of their statement -- or the G20
meeting doesn't result in significant progress in the trade war
with China, then the market could experience a sharp pullback,"
wrote Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent
Advisor Alliance, in a Tuesday research note.
Which stocks are in focus
Facebook Inc. shares (FB) shares on Tuesday fell 0.3% after the
social-media giant unveiled its cryptocurrency, Libra coin,
offering users the ability to make payments on the internet.
Shares of Snapchat-parent Snap Inc.(SNAP) rose nearly 10% after
an analyst expressed increased optimism
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/snap-stock-surges-after-btig-hikes-target-to-a-street-high-20-2019-06-18)
about the technology company's latest attempts to monetize its
platform and drive user growth.
How are other assets trading?
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1% and China's Shanghai
Composite Index inching up less than 0.1%. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell
0.7%, while in Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 headed 1% higher after
Draghi's comments.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury note touched a 21-month low at
2.02%, while the comparable German debt , known as the bund, was
trading around a record-low yield at negative 0.313%. Bond prices
and yields move in the opposite direction.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-slips-as-demand-worries-persist-but-global-stock-market-rally-lends-support-2019-06-18)
finished sharply higher, while gold futures settled at a 14-month
high
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-jumps-toward-14-month-high-as-investors-bet-on-dovish-central-banks-2019-06-18),
even as the U.S. dollar bucked up against the euro, with the ICE
U.S. Dollar index climbing 0.1% at 97.64.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 18, 2019 16:26 ET (20:26 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024