US close: Stocks reverses earlier losses as investors remain hopeful of improved US-China relations
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 15 Nov 2018
(Sharecast News) - US stocks closed higher on Thursday, reversing losses seen in the previous session, as the dollar surged against the pound and investors continued to eye the headlines around trade talks between the US and China.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.83% higher at 25,289.27, while the S&P 500 was up 1.06% to 2,730.20 and the Nasdaq was 1.72% firmer at 7,259.03.
After opening almost 200 points lower on Thursday, the Dow avoided recorded its longest skid in five months as a report that Washington looked set to back off its aggressive stance against China began to do the rounds.
Crude-oil futures surrendered earlier gains, while gold prices moved ahead 0.29% and the US dollar traded 0.11% firmer.
In corporate news, 3M picked up 3.56% after the company set out its financial guidance for 2019, while Walmart slipped 1.96% throughout the session despite posting better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and lifting its full-year adjusted earnings per share outlook.
JC Penney closed 11.48% higher after its new CEO said ending losses would be a "lengthy process", while NetApp lost 11.73% after missing revenue expectations in the second quarter of its trading year.
Nvidia crashed 16.72% and Nordstrom tumbled 9.90% in after-hours trading on the back of their own quarterly figures.
On the data front, US jobless claims edged slightly higher by surprise last week.
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, initial unemployment claims for the week ending on 10 November rose by 2,000 to reach 216,000.
Economists had pencilled-in a reading of 210,000.
In parallel, the four-week moving average, which aims to smooth out the fluctuations in the data from one week to the next, increased by 1,500 to 215,250.
US retail sales grew quicker than expected last month, boosted by sales of motor vehicles, building materials and at gasoline stations.
Total retail sales volumes grew at a 0.8% month-on-month pace in October to reach $511.5bn, according to the Department of Commerce. Economists had forecast an increase of 0.5%.
September retail sales, however, were revised lower by two-tenths of a percentage point to reveal a drop of 0.1% month-on-month. Versus a year ago, retail sales were up by 4.6%.
Meanwhile, the import price index rose 0.5% in October on the back of rising gas prices was a big contributor.
The increase in import prices over the past 12 months moved up to 3.5% from 3.1%.
Elsewhere, manufacturing conditions in the Philadelphia region deteriorated more than expected in November, according to a survey released on Thursday.
The Philadelphia Fed's index for current manufacturing activity slumped to 12.9 this month from 22.2 in October, marking its lowest reading since August and coming in below expectations for a much smaller drop to 20.0.
Nearly 35% of manufacturers reported an increase in overall activity this month, while 22% reported decreases.
Lastly, business conditions in the New York region unexpectedly improved in November, according to a survey from the New York Fed.
The Empire State manufacturing index rose to 23.3 from 21.1 in October, beating expectations for a reading of 20.0. The survey found that 41% of respondents reported an improvement in conditions over the month, while 18% said conditions had worsened.
The new orders index slipped to 20.4 this month from 22.5 in October, while the shipments index rose to 28.0 from 26.3. The delivery time gauge ticked down to 5.0 from 4.4 and the inventories index surged to 10.9 from 0.8 last month.
Meanwhile, the index for future business conditions pushed up five points to 33.6.
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