Trade hopes drive record day on Street

Fresh optimism over trade drove stocks to records Monday, extending the market’s recent rally.

Major indexes have managed to break out to all-time highs in the past few days after spending much of the late summer and early fall drifting along in a narrow range.

Much of the market’s recent push higher has been driven by cyclical stocks — shares of companies that investors tend to gravitate toward when they’re more confident about growth.

Earnings, while mixed, have mostly proved to be better than investors had expected. Investors also have taken comfort in signs that the US-China trade conflict may be moving closer to a resolution. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said this weekend that the world’s two largest economies are making “good progress” on a phase-one accord.

The de-escalation of trade tensions in the past couple of months has been reassuring to investors such as Michael Stritch, chief investment officer and national head of investments at BMO Wealth Management.

Stritch said the firm was weighing a few months ago whether it should be taking a more defensive approach in its investments.

“I think the question now is if we’re ready to put some risk back on the table,” Stritch said.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 114.75 points, or 0.4 percent, to 27,462.11, notching its first record since July. The S&P 500 added 11.36 points, or 0.4 percent, to a fresh high of 3,078.27, and the Nasdaq advanced 46.80 points, or 0.6 percent, to a record 8,433.20.