US Market closes at new record highs

The US equity market advanced for a fourth consecutive day and struck new record highs on Thursday, 06 February 2020, mirroring a rally across global markets as traders took heart from signs of further progress in Sino-American trade relations after China's pledge of tariff cuts on American goods and cushion the economic fallout from the coronavirus epidemic. At closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 88.92 points, or 0.3%, to 29,379.77. The S&P 500 index rose 11.09 points, or 0.3% to 3,345.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 63.47 points, or 0.7% to 9,572.15. All three indexes closed at new records.

Investors sentiment was bolstered by the China Ministry of Finance announcement on Thursday that it would halve tariffs on hundreds of U.S. imports from 14 Feb. 2020, which could help improve negotiating conditions for a second phase of a trade accord after the two countries signed off on an interim deal last month.

Tariffs on an array of U.S. goods will be reduced from 10% to 5%, and from 5% to 2.5% on others. The adjustment would apply to about $75 billion worth of imports from the U.S. that China slapped with tariffs on 1 Sept. 2019. China's finance ministry said the tariff cut was timed in conjunction with a U.S. decision last month to halve tariffs on roughly $120 billion worth of Chinese products.

Beijing's decision caught many traders off guard and investors interpreted it as a fresh sign of further de-escalation in the Sino-U.S. trade dispute at a time when China is struggling to contain a fast-spreading coronavirus epidemic that has killed more than 500 people.

China's National Health Commission said on Thursday the death toll in the country had exceeded 500, with the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rising past 28,000 as of February 5. The vast majority of new deaths occurred in the city of Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province, the centre of the outbreak.

The corporate earnings season continued with Twitter and and Bristol-Myers Squibb releasing their quarterly numbers. Twitter shares jumped more than 15% on its results while Bristol traded higher by 2.3%.

ECONOMIC NEWS: The number of Americans newly applying for jobless benefits fell 15,000 to 202,000 during the week ended Feb. 1, near a 50-year low. Productivity growth accelerated in the fourth quarter, the Labor Department said, to 1.4%

Powered by Capital Market - Live News