China's hub plans to double cargo trains to Europe
HANGZHOU: The eastern Chinese city of Yiwu, home to the world's leading small commodities market, plans to send 1,000 cargo trains to Europe in 2020, almost doubling the number in 2019, according to the local government.
The China-Europe train service has developed rapidly in Yiwu since it was first launched in the city in 2014. In 2019, 528 cargo trains were sent, a 65 percent increase compared with the previous year. The service now has 11 routes linking Yiwu with 37 countries and regions across Eurasia.
Yiwu has seen booming trade with countries along the Belt and Road, with exports expected to increase by 11 percent in 2019. The Nasdaq surged to a fresh record on Wednesday, as the major US indices all rose amid diminished anxiety over the US-Iran conflict in the wake of an attack on American troops. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index finished up 0.7 percent at 9,129.24, eclipsing a January 2 record by almost 40 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6 percent to close at 28,745.09, while the broad-based S&P 500 added 0.5 percent to 3,253.05. Wall Street opened the session cautiously following a series of missile attacks by Iran on bases hosting US and other foreign troops in neighboring Iraq. The strikes were Iran's first concrete retaliation over the US killing of a top Iranian commander.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed there was more to come, but President Donald Trump said Tehran appeared to be "standing down" after the missile attack caused no casualties. "At least for now, the retaliation is behind us," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities. "The market can move on."
Hogan said investors are focused on an expected signing of a US-China trade accord next week, and upcoming quarterly earnings season. In economic data, private companies added 202,000 jobs in December, according to payrolls firm ADP. The figures bested analyst expectations and came ahead of Friday's key government jobs report.
Among individual shares, Boeing dropped 1.8 percent, weighing on the Dow, following the fatal crash of a Ukraine International Airlines plane in Iran. The aircraft involved in the accident was 737-800, a predecessor to the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded following two earlier crashes. Analysts said it was too soon to speculate on causes of the crash, but characterized the incident as another unwelcome challenge for the company. Another Dow member, Walgreens Boots Alliance, sank 5.8 percent after reporting disappointing quarterly results. Macy's gained 2.4 percent after better-than-expected sales during the critical November-December holiday period. Grubhub surged 12.6 percent following a report that the food delivery company was considering strategic options, including a possible sale.