Market’s rebound stretches to 3rd day, boosting stocks

NEW YORK» Stocks climbed Thursday as major indexes extended a rebound into a third day. The dollar dropped, a change that provided a relief to big exporters such as industrial and technology companies.

The U.S. stock market continued its gradual rebound from a plunge that lasted almost the entire month of October, and many of the biggest gains Thursday came from stocks that struggled badly last month such as chipmakers and other technology companies and smaller, domesticallyfocused companies.

Stocks headed higher after President Donald Trump tweeted that he had spoken to China’s President Xi Jinping and that their countries were making progress in trade negotiations. Trump didn’t give details, but there have been few signs of movement in the trade dispute in recent months, and investors are getting nervous about the prospect of huge tariff increases.

Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist for Charles Schwab, said one reason for the market rout was that companies started to give more details about how much the tariffs could hurt them.

“Companies are saying, ‘This is biting and here’s how,’ ” she said. “They’re starting to talk about profit margins and whether they’re going to pass the expenses onto consumers.”

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 percent to $222.22 before releasing its quarterly report, but it slumped 4 percent in aftermarket trading after reporting that it sold fewer iPhones than analysts expected and gave a weak forecast for the current period.

The S&P 500 index added 28.63 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,740.37. The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 264.98 points, or 1.1 percent, to 25,380.74. The Nasdaq composite climbed 128.16 points, or 1.8 percent, to 7,434.06. The Russell 2000 index jumped 33.57 points, or 2.2 percent, to 1,544.98.