Dow Industrials on Pace to Notch Record High
July 03 2019 - 9:25AM
Dow Jones News
By Lauren Almeida
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a fourth straight day,
pushing the blue-chip index above its record closing level in
intraday trading Wednesday.
The Dow industrials surpassed their Oct. 3 milestone soon after
the opening bell and would be the last of the major stock indexes
to hit a new record this year. Shares of Johnson & Johnson and
UnitedHealth Group led the 30-stock index higher, as investors
continued their steady buying of stocks this week.
The Dow added 57 points, or 0.2%, to 26845, while the S&P
500 gained 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite also rose, adding 0.3%. The
Dow also previously topped its record closing level in intraday
trading last month but fell back below the record before markets
closed.
Stocks have been climbing higher, albeit slowly, since last
weekend's trade truce eased investors' fears of an all-out trade
war between the world's two biggest economies. The Dow, S&P 500
and Nasdaq Composite are all up at least 1% so far this week.
Still, investors aren't entirely convinced that the U.S. and
China are close to a final agreement that would remove tariffs on
imports, analysts said, likely why the Dow and other indexes
haven't risen toward bigger gains this week.
UnitedHealth led the Dow higher Wednesday, adding 1%, while
Johnson & Johnson climbed 1.1%. Most other stocks in the index
notched modest gains, while Boeing, Walmart and 3M edged lower.
Among the S&P 500, shares of Symantec rose the most, adding
15% after the company landed takeover interest from Broadcom, which
declined 2.4% in recent trading.
Meanwhile, German 10-year government bond yields slid to a
record low Wednesday on expectations that the European Central
Bank's likely new president, Christine Lagarde. Lagarde, will
pursue more easy-money policies.
Other bond yields also fell in Europe as investors bet on more
interest-rate cuts and bond buying to come as the continent suffers
low growth and low inflation rates. Italy's 10-year bond yields
fell to 1.703%, while U.S. yields were down to 1.953% from 1.978%
on Tuesday. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Analysts anticipate Ms. Lagarde will oversee further
quantitative easing, following her statement after the G-20 meeting
that the global economy has hit a rough patch, with trade as the
primary risk.
"She advised central banks to continue to adjust their policies
with incoming data," said Daniele Antonucci, chief euro-area
economist at Morgan Stanley. "Market participants, in our view,
will probably place her in the dovish camp."
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.8%, led by the food and
beverage sectors, utilities and health-care companies. Shares in JD
Sports Fashion were up almost 3% after the company said it expected
its profit to meet analysts' forecasts, taking its gains for this
year to 78% and making it one of Europe's best-performing stocks in
2019.
Asian stock markets fell, with South Korea leading losses as the
Kospi slipped 1.2% after the country lowered growth and inflation
forecasts. Consumer prices are expected to rise 0.9% in 2019 rather
than 1.6% as previously forecast. Chinese stocks in Shanghai were
down 0.9%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 0.1% lower.
Paul J. Davies contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 03, 2019 10:10 ET (14:10 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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