MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Wall Street at record highs on housing data and hopes of a global rebound

Market sentiment brightened further this week after the United States and China sealed a Phase 1 trade deal, pausing an 18-month tariff dispute

Wall Street climbed to record highs on Friday, with major indexes turning in their strongest weekly gains since August, after strong U.S. housing data and signs of resilience in the Chinese economy raised hopes of a rebound in global growth.

Market sentiment brightened further this week after the United States and China sealed a Phase 1 trade deal, pausing an 18-month tariff dispute that has weighed on financial markets globally.

Earlier in the day, data showed China ended 2019 on a somewhat firmer note, even as economic growth cooled to its weakest in nearly 30 years. Meanwhile, U.S. homebuilding surged to a 13-year high in December, suggesting the housing market recovery was back on track amid low mortgage rates.

“The macro data points both here and abroad have been relatively positive,” said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.

“That is creating an increased sense of optimism going into not just the earnings, but also guidance which is far more important at this point for both Q1 and fiscal 2020.”

Analysts expect earnings at S&P 500 companies to drop 0.8% in the fourth quarter, but forecast a 5.8% rise in the first quarter of 2020, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.17per cent to end at 29,348.1 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.39per cent to 3,329.62. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.34per cent to 9,388.94.

For the week, the S&P 500 added 1.96per cent, the Dow rose 1.82per cent and the Nasdaq increased 2.29per cent.