Technology companies, banks lead rebound for U.S. stocks
A rebound in technology companies and banks helped reverse an early slide for U.S. stocks Thursday, breaking a five-day losing streak for the market.
Health care and industrial stocks also rose, offsetting losses in retailers, homebuilders, utilities and other sectors. Energy stocks also helped lift the market as the price of U.S. crude oil rose for the second straight day.
British bank stocks plunged and the British pound slumped amid discord over a new deal for Britain’s departure from the European Union next Spring.
The late-afternoon market rebound marked the latest episode of volatile trading for the market this week.
The S&P 500 index rose 28.62 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,730.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 208.77 points, or 0.8 percent, to 25,289.27. The Nasdaq composite climbed 122.64 points, or 1.7 percent, to 7,259.03. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 21.62 points, or 1.4 percent, to 1,524.12.
Thursday’s market rebound coincided with a Financial Times report citing unnamed sources that said the United States’ trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, has told some executives that a planned escalation in January of U.S. tariffs on imported goods from China are now on hold.
The Trump administration has imposed a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods over complaints Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology as the price of market access. That tariff had been due to rise to 25 percent in January. Another $50 billion of Chinese goods already is subject to 25 percent duties. Beijing has responded with penalty duties on $110 billion of American goods.
Washington and Beijing resumed talks over their spiraling trade dispute this week ahead of a meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, China’s Commerce Ministry said Thursday.
Technology sector stocks accounted for much of the market’s gain. Cisco Systems rose 5.5 percent to $46.77 a day after the company reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street’s forecasts.
While a strong economy and job market helped boost home sales earlier this year, rising mortgage rates and home prices are becoming hurdles for many would-be buyers. The annual rate of new U.S home sales has dropped 15.3 percent since May, eliminating much of the strength in sales from the first five months of 2018.
Oil prices closed higher for the second straight day. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.4 percent to settle at $56.46 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 0.8 percent to close at $66.62 a barrel in London.
Despite the latest pickup, U.S. crude oil is still down about 13.5 percent for the month. The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. has dropped to $2.67 from $2.89 a month ago, according to AAA.
Natural gas, which spiked Wednesday amid forecasts calling for a cold snap across much of the Northeast and South, slumped 16.5 percent to $4.04 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In other energy trading, heating oil fell 1 percent to $2.07 a gallon and wholesale gasoline slid 0.3 percent to $1.56 a gallon.
Energy stocks got a boost from the pickup in oil prices. Noble Energy gained 3.1 percent to $29.50.