Claire HunteUS stocks rallied to fresh records led by financials on a flow of encouraging news and economic data on Tuesday. Investors were buoyed as nominated Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell argued for lifting regulation on the sector during testimony before a Senate committee today. News that North Korea fired a ballistic missile had little lasting impact.
The run of good data points fueling stocks to new heights in a broad-based rally included the Conference Board reporting stronger-than-expected consumer confidence data for November rising to a 17-year high. The tax bill clearing another hurdle after the Senate Budget Committee passed it, although procedural and expected, it cheered market participants who see the likelihood of tax cuts improving. Higher confidence, strong housing and retail sales all reinforces a positive outlook for the US economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 255 points, or +1.09%, at 23,836.71, boosted by gains in shares of components JPMorgan Chase up +3.40% and Verizon Communications up +2.43%. The S&P 500 index closed at 2,627. Technology-oriented NASDAQ Composite Index closed above 6,900 for the first time. One-year performance for the three gauges is between a robust 19% and 28%. Bond market performance saw Treasurys remaining flat and the dollar added gains, the dollar index rose 0.2%. The euro fell against the dollar 0.5% to $1.1845. The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.3365.
- Dow 23,836.71 +1.09%
- S&P 500 2,627.05 +0.99%
- NASDAQ 6,912.36 +0.49%
- Russell 2000 1,534.73 +1.42%
- NYSE Composite 12,519.14 +1.04%
- Gold 1,296.6 -0.17%
- Oil WTI $57.93 -0.31% (3:54PM EDT)
- 10-Year Treasury 2.33 -0.13%
Buffalo Wild Wings store sign Source: Susan Montgomery / Shutterstock.comArby's $2.9bn deal for Buffalo Wild Wings
Arby's Restaurant Group and Nasdaq-listed Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) announced on Tuesday that they entered into a $2.9bn deal unanimously approved by both companies' boards.