New York – U.S. stocks rose to fresh records on Friday, propelled by strong earnings from Intel and drugmaker AbbVie as well as a weaker dollar, putting the three main indexes on track for their best four-week rally since 2016.
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Intel’s <INTC.O> shares jumped more than 9 percent to their highest in almost two decades, after strong results offered the clearest sign yet that its years-long effort to shift away from a slowing PC business was paying off.
AbbVie <ABBV.N> rose 8.9 percent after reporting upbeat profit on strong sales for its blockbuster drug Humira.
The earnings helped investors looked beyond data that showed U.S. economic growth unexpectedly slowed in the fourth quarter, due to a surge in imports.
Gross domestic product increased at a 2.6 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said in its advance GDP report. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the economy to expand at a 3 percent rate.
Another set of data showed new orders for key U.S.-made capital goods unexpectedly fell in December.
“I was surprised at the headline numbers,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial in Waltham, Massachusetts. “But when you look at details, GDP growth is much stronger than what the headline number suggests.”
The surge in imports looks to be seasonal, he said.
Markets have moved this week on comments from top U.S. officials at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s endorsement of a weak dollar, triggered a slide in the currency that helped prop up the indexes. The greenback clawed back some of the losses after President Donald Trump said he ultimately wants the dollar to be strong.
The dollar was last down 0.44 percent against a basket of currencies <.DXY>.
Trump in his address at Davos warned trading partners that Washington would no longer tolerate unfair trade, but added that the United States was “open for business”.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> gained 86.9 points, or 0.33 percent, to 26,479.69 and the S&P 500 <.SPX> rose 14.61 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,853.86. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was up 47.80 points, or 0.64 percent, at 7,458.96.
Of the 133 S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly earnings so far, 79.7 percent have topped expectations, versus an average of 72 percent over the previous four quarters.
Pfizer <PFE.N> and Gilead Sciences <GILD.O> also rose, pulling higher the S&P healthcare index by 1.14 percent, the biggest gainer among the 11 major S&P sectors.
Honeywell <HON.N> rose 1.2 percent after the company raised its forecast for 2018 profit.
Starbucks <SBUX.O> fell about 5 percent after it warned 2018 global cafe sales growth would be at the low end of its forecast.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,449 to 1,301. On the Nasdaq, 1,454 issues rose and 1,312 fell.
I blame Trump
Thank you again and again, Pres. Trump, for keeping your word and making America great again in SO MANY ways! This is beyond my wildest expectations: tax cuts, record high stock market and economy, Jerusalem embassy move, freeing Rubashkin, instilling respect and fear once again in america’s Enemies, fighting terrorism (vs. Obama’s appeasement), taking on the UN, cutting funds to PA and UN, tightening immigration, and most of all PUTTING AMERICA FIRST! Anyone who can deny the truth about all good he has done and continues to do is simply a liar, typical for liberals who are ignorant, and foolishly put criminals, terrorists, undeserving immigrants before the needs and scrutiny of Americans. That’s better known as being a traitor.
Dow records first yr of Obama
(1st opening day day after he took office) Jan 20 2009= 7949.09
Jan 19 2010= 10725.23
Total return = 35%
If we stretch that to Jan 26 2010= 10194.29
Total return = 28.2%
Dow records under Trump
Jan 20 2017 =19827.25
Jan 19 2018= 26071.72
Total return = 31.4%
If we stretch that to Jan 26 2018= 26,479.69
Total return since in office = 33.5%
Basically since Trump was in office 33.5% , Obama 28.2%. . Where is my numbers challenger?
By the way those concerned about a down turn. Sure I don’t doubt a down turn. But the higher it goes now the easiest it is to climb back up. What goes down comes back up.
#MAGA
Wow more record closes. Trump is killing it.
It’s not even close how many more trillions Trump has added to the economy than Obama did. It might even be greater than a 3 to 1 ratio.
It’s no coincidence that the market started rallying the day after Trump won the election and hasn’t stopped since.