US Biz
NEW YORK, July 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks rallied Wednesday, lifted by optimism over international trade deals and investor anticipation for major tech earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 507.85 points, or 1.14 percent, to finish at 45,010.29, just shy of a record close. The S&P 500 gained 0.78 percent to notch a new record close at 6,358.91. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 127.33 points, or 0.61 percent, to 21,020.02, marking its first-ever close above the 21,000 mark.
Gains were broad-based, with nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors finishing in the green. Health care and industrials led the charge with gains of 2.03 percent and 1.75 percent, respectively. Utilities and consumer staples lagged, slipping 0.79 percent and 0.07 percent.
Investor sentiment was buoyed by news of a U.S.-Japan trade pact. U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the agreement includes a 15 percent tariff on imports from Japan, lower than the previously threatened 25 percent, and 550 billion U.S. dollars of Japanese investment in the United States.
Shares of Japanese automakers surged following the announcement, with U.S.-listed shares of Toyota and Honda each jumping more than 13 percent. Detroit-based automakers also gained, with Stellantis up 11.54 percent and General Motors rising 8.67 percent.
In tech, Tesla edged higher and Alphabet slipped slightly. Other mega-cap tech names were mostly higher. Nvidia rose over 2 percent, Meta Platforms and Broadcom each added more than 1 percent, and Microsoft and Amazon posted modest gains. Apple dipped slightly.
All three major stock indexes posted strong gains. "Perhaps the move by U.S. stocks off the early-April lows is emblematic of the age-old adage about bull markets often climbing a 'wall of worry,'" Liz Ann Sonders and Kevin Gordon, investment strategists at Charles Schwab, said in a note. "There is no shortage of things to worry about; but that's the wall markets often climb."