Markets in the United States have been enjoying gains for the past four days thanks to the positive changes in the U.S.-China relations.
U.S. markets seem to have responded positively to the recent first phase of the trade deal that has partially solved the current impasse between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. Sources indicate that yesterday’s gains were the fourth straight day that the United States markets were in the green. According to reports, the S&P 500 gained 0.7% to end the day at 3,191.45 while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.9% to 8,814.23 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) went up by 100.51 points or 0.4% at 28,235.89.
These figures already indicate that the end-of-year trading activities shall end most likely on the upside barring unforeseen circumstances. It also shows that the markets are still resilient and rebound easily despite the uncertainties regarding global politics and isolationist policies by several governments across the world.
According to the information revealed, experts have been able to eave a sigh of relief at the news with a consensus opinion being that the increased trading activities have enabled companies to start spending again. And most of the expenditures were technology-based.
Technology shares across the board have risen by 0.9% with Micron leading the pack at a 3.4% modest increase while Western Digital went up by 4.1%. Goldman Sachs gave the Dow a lift by 1.4%. The market sentiment was also buoyed by the numbers coming in from China. Year-over-year industrial production rose to 6.2% which was way better than expected and retails sales also increased significantly by 8%.
Many pundits have indicated that this may be the beginning of a bull run because the Chinese and Americans have started looking for ways to end the trade war that has crippled quite a bit of commerce on both sides. The recent phase one implementation of the new deal will see the United States remove some levies on certain Chinese-made goods while the Chinese in exchange will purchase agricultural products from the U.S. on a bigger scale. The new agreement to resolve the trade war removes the possibility of the trade war having a volatility factor at play in the markets.
This has also removed the uncertainties that businesses had to face due to the introduction of all kinds of restrictions rapidly changing situations across the board. This is also indicative of a changing world where isolationism and globalism have to work side-by-side. For example, with the recent conservative win in the United Kingdom, the possibilities of a no-deal Brexit have arisen and British prime Minister Boris Johnson has his required majority to get Brexit over and done with. How this will play out in the international markets remains yet to be seen. However, one thing is certain though: whenever two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.
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