MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US markets soar after China announces tariff cuts on US goods

Wall Street stocks finished at fresh records on Thursday, again shrugging off worries about the coronavirus outbreak and applauding China's move to cut tariffs on US goods. All three major indices ended at all-time highs, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average advancing 88.92 points (0.30 per cent) to 29,379.77.

All three major indices ended at all-time highs, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average advancing 88.92 points (0.30 per cent) to 29,379.77.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 11.09 points (0.33 per cent) to finish at 3,345.78, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 63.47 points (0.67 per cent) to 9,572.16. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also notched records on Wednesday.

Stocks have risen all week as investors bet that the economic hit from the epidemic would not be lasting even as some analysts warned of potential market volatility due to the outbreak.

“We have been in an environment where people have tended to look through macro risks,” said Nate Thooft of Manulife Asset Management, who said markets view the coronavirus as a “temporary” issue that will delay growth “for a quarter or two.”

Among individual companies, Boeing surged 3.6 per cent as the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said a certification flight for the 737 MAX could occur within weeks, a positive sign for a jet that has been grounded for almost a year.

Boeing said it still expects the MAX to return to service at mid-year.

Twitter soared 15.1 per cent as it reported lower profits, but topped US$1 billion in revenues, adding millions of new users in the fourth quarter. Estee Lauder climbed 5.2 per cent after reporting better-than-expected quarterly profits. But the cosmetics giant cut its annual forecast, citing a hit from the coronavirus.

Kellogg dived 8.5 per cent on disappointment over its outlook which reflected the profit hit due to asset sales from the cereal company