Rebound extends into its third day
U.S. stocks rose Thursday as major indexes extended their rebound into a third day. The dollar slid, providing relief to big exporters such as industrial and technology companies.
Many of the biggest gainers Thursday were stocks hit hard during the market decline that lasted nearly the entire month of October, including tech firms and smaller, domestically focused companies.
Stocks headed up after President Trump tweeted that he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping and that the two countries were making some progress in trade negotiations. He didn’t give details. Investors have been getting nervous about the prospect of huge tariff increases.
Strong earnings from U.S. companies have helped the market recover its footing over the last three days. Chemicals maker DowDuPont jumped after reporting a strong quarter, as did Arm & Hammer maker Church & Dwight and insurer AIG. Apple climbed 1.5% to $222.22 before reporting its latest quarterly results, but it slumped 4% in after-hours trading after saying it sold fewer iPhones than analysts expected and giving a weak forecast for the current period.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 28.63 points, or 1.1%, to 2,740.37. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 264.98 points, or 1.1%, to 25,380.74. The Nasdaq composite climbed 128.16 points, or 1.8%, to 7,434.06. The Russell 2000 index jumped 33.57 points, or 2.2%, to 1,544.98.
The S&P 500 is up 2.5% for the year.
DowDuPont surged 8.1% to $58.27 after its third-quarter profit surpassed analysts’ estimates. The company also said it expects to save more money from cost cuts and plans to buy back an additional $3 billion in stock.
Fitness tracker maker Fitbit soared 25.8% to $5.95 after reporting quarterly results that beat expectations.
Exporters rose as the dollar slumped. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index slid 0.9% after reaching a 16-month high Wednesday. A weaker dollar helps companies that do a lot of business outside the United States.
Aerospace firm Boeing rose 2.3% to $363.07. Farm equipment maker Deere added 3.8% to $140.65. Among chipmakers, Nvidia climbed 3.5% to $218.11 and Advanced Micro Devices leaped 11% to $20.22.
The decline in the dollar also sent metals prices sharply higher. Gold jumped 1.9% to $1,238.60 an ounce. Silver rose 3.5% to $14.78 an ounce. Copper rose 2.4% to $2.72 a pound.
Oil and gas firm Newfield Exploration jumped 16.1% to $23.46 after Canadian energy firm Encana said it would buy Newfield for $5.5 billion in stock.
Oil prices continued to weaken after the Department of Energy said U.S. crude stockpiles increased for the sixth straight week. Benchmark U.S. crude slumped 2.5% to $63.69 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, slid 2.9% to $72.89 a barrel.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.14% from 3.15%.