US Market gains on upbeat earnings, geopolitical developments

The US stock market finished session near records high on Thursday, 17 October 2019, as risk sentiments boosted up by better than expected corporate earnings reports from U.S. companies such as Netflix and Morgan Stanley and optimism from a Brexit draft agreement. At closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23.90 points, or 0.09%, to 27,025.88, while the S&P 500 index advanced 8.26 points, or 0.28%, to 2,997.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 32.67 points, or 0.4%, to 8,156.85.

Britain and the European Union agreed to a severance deal, moving closer toward wrapping up three years of uncertainties after Britons voted to leave the bloc. The deal comes after years of divisive and frequently acrimonious discussions with the EU, including successive days of late-night talks this week.

At a news conference with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the deal meant there would be no need for a further delay to Britain's departure and negotiations on the future relationship between Britain and the EU would begin as soon as the deal was approved by the UK and European parliaments.

On the U.S.-China trade front, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow's commented that he sees momentum to finalize the initial phase of a U.S.-China trade deal outlined last week, adding it may be signed at the APEC forum next month. Upbeat statements from Beijing and Washington fueled hopes that a phased agreement could ease the long-running U.S.-China trade war that has rattled markets for months.

Among individual stocks, Shares of Netflix Inc. added 2.5% after it reported third-quarter results late Wednesday. The streaming service said it added 6.77 million new paying subscribers in the quarter, with only 500,000 coming from the U.S.

Morgan Stanley climbed 3% after reported better than expected quarterly profit, driven by bond trading and M&A advisory strength.

In economic news, US Sept Housing Starts Pull Back From 12-Year High-- US housing starts plunged by 9.4% to an annual rate of 1.256 million in September after soaring by 15.1% to a revised 1.386 million in August, after reporting a substantial increase in new residential construction in the previous month, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday. With the much bigger than expected decrease, housing starts pulled back well off the twelve-year high set in August.

US Industrial Production Falls In September -- US industrial production fell by 0.4% in September after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.8% in August, the Federal Reserve released a report on Thursday. Manufacturing output dropped by 0.5% in September after rising by 0.6% in August, with the production of motor vehicles and parts plunging by 4.2%. The report also said mining output tumbled by 1.3% in September after spiking by 2.4% in August, while utilities output jumped by 1.4% after inching up by 0.2% in the previous month.

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