Dow tops 21,000 after Trump speech

Lack of details in US President’s speech hasn’t stopped Wall Street from continuing to make risky trades

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a fresh record of more than 21,000 yesterday, one day after President Donald Trump gave a speech expected to list details on upcoming tax cuts.

Those details never materialised, but that hasn’t stopped Wall Street traders from continuing to make risky trades. Despite the lack of deals, markets have been bullish for the past 35 record-breaking sessions. “This rally is sentimentand momentum-driven. It’s difficult to find a negative statement for traders to react,” said Nadi Bargouti, managing director, asset management, Emirates Investment Bank.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record of 21,009 a few minutes after the opening bell. The S&P 500 index was 0.81 per cent higher at 2,382.85.

Traders are now moving their attention to Federal Reserve vice-chairman William Dudley statements that it was more compelling for the central bank to hike rates in their March meeting.

“Lack of details in the Trump speech won’t be able to stimulate massive rally in US equities,” Naeem Aslam, Chief Market Analyst, at ThinkMarkets told Gulf News.

Elsewhere in the world, the UK’s FTSE 100 Index was up more than a per cent at 7,364.92. The German DAX index was also up at 12,025.55.

Locally, the Dubai Financial Market General Index closed 0.27 per cent lower at 3,620.68, while the Abu Dhabi Securities General Index closed 0.38 per cent higher at 4,569.53.

The dollar index edged higher, hitting its highest level in six weeks. The dollar index was 0.68 per cent higher at 101.810.