Stocks hit new heights on NAFTA talks

U.S. stocks hit a new high, while the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso scored gains after a report of progress in negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement.

While the approaching Thanksgiving holiday gives traders a chance to pause, equities are heading into the end of the year near their peaks, with investors optimistic about global growth and company earnings. The S&P 500 Index passed the 2,600 mark Tuesday, reaching its highest level on record. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its 2018 target for the index to 2,850 from 2,500, citing an expansion in profits and valuations.

“Investors can be reassured by the strength and durability of the current economic cycle,” Peter Oppenheimer, Goldman’s chief global equity strategist, said in a note. “While it has already been a long cycle, the unwinding of the financial crisis has also meant that, until recently, it has been sub-par in terms of strength -- as is often the case following financial crises.”

The loonie rose and the peso hit a five-week high after Juan Pablo Castanon, head of Mexico’s business chamber, said in an interview that negotiators were close to finishing work on telecom, energy and digital commerce provisions of Nafta. The dollar declined. The euro climbed after dropping the most in three weeks the day before.

Gilts advanced amid reports Prime Minister Theresa May has the backing of ministers to offer the European Union more money to break the Brexit deadlock. West Texas crude gained while gold rose after Monday’s big decline.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced and German shares outperformed. The MSCI Emerging Market Index reached its highest in more than six years.