Major U.S. stock indexes eked out a gain Tuesday, closing higher for a fifth consecutive session.
Investors bought shares of banks, retailers and communication companies, including
and pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite toward a fresh trio of record closes.
Tuesday’s gains were the latest in a multiday surge since the U.S. and China agreed last week to a preliminary trade truce. That deal removed, for now, a major source of consternation for investors by canceling a new round of tariffs and easing some of the levies that were already in place.
But the relief rally showed some signs of weakening as major indexes struggled to find direction earlier in the session before ending with slight gains.
The U.S. and China still haven’t signed their phase-one trade deal and aren’t expected to until early January.
Edward Moya,
a senior market analyst at brokerage firm Oanda said a delay could raise anxieties among investors who have been dealing with on-again, off-again trade tensions for more than a year.
“While trade optimism fatigue could see some pressure on equities, a significant pullback seems unlikely,” Mr. Moya added.
The S&P 500 added 1.07 points, or less than 0.1%, to 3192.52, extending its gain so far this year to 27%, the broad index’s best run in six years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 31.27 points, or 0.1%, to 28267.16, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 9.13 points, or 0.1%, to 8823.36.
Several analysts said they expect the S&P 500 to at least maintain most of those gains through the year’s end now that the U.S. and China have the makings of a preliminary trade deal. That should set up stocks up for further gains in 2020, they said, although at a more muted pace.
How next year shakes out largely depends on whether the U.S. and China can continue to resolve their trade issues and whether U.S. economy can continue to grow. Tuesday offered investors some upbeat data on the latter point, including firm signs of a pickup in factory production and home building.
Shares of Netflix added $11.27, or 3.7%, to $315.48 to help lead the S&P 500 higher after the streaming service disclosed that it added subscribers in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Photo:
Dominic Lipinski/Zuma Press
Several retailers added to the broad index’s advance.
gained 40 cents, or 2.6%, to $16.03, while Target rose $2.42, or 1.9%, to $128.38.
Financial stocks also rose, with the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index of the biggest banks in the U.S. adding 0.8%.
Meanwhile, in Europe, the pound and stocks fell amid worries the U.K. may eventually break its ties with the European Union without a trade agreement in place.
Sterling slipped 1.4% against the U.S. dollar, its steepest decline in more than a year. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 gauge dropped 0.7%.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 1.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.2%.
—Anna Hirtenstein and Caitlin Ostroff contributed to this article.
Write to Michael Wursthorn at [email protected]
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