Join +750K new investors every month who copy stock picks from billionaire's portfoliosSign Up Free

US STOCKS-Indexes climb on China stimulus hopes, hold ground after Fed minutes

Published 19/02/2020, 21:17
© Reuters.  US STOCKS-Indexes climb on China stimulus hopes, hold ground after Fed minutes
US500
-
DJI
-
AAPL
-
GRMN
-
NVDA
-
IXIC
-
SPLRCT
-

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or

type LIVE/ in a news window.)

* Garmin climbs after upbeat revenue forecast

* China expected to cut benchmark interest rates

* Dow rises 0.5%, S&P climbs 0.6%, Nasdaq up 1%

(Updates to late afternoon)

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, Feb 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday

as optimism that China would take more measures to prop up its

economy eased concerns about the economic impact of the

coronavirus epidemic.

Stocks held gains following the release of minutes from U.S.

Federal Reserve's last policy meeting, which showed policymakers

were cautiously optimistic about their ability to hold interest

rates steady this year while acknowledging new risks caused by

the virus outbreak. The number of new coronavirus cases dropped for a second

straight day in China, although global health officials

cautioned it was too early to predict how the outbreak will play

out. China is widely expected to cut its benchmark lending

interest rate on Thursday, which would add to a number of

measures aimed at limiting the impact from business shutdowns

and travel curbs on the world's second-largest economy.

"It sounds as though investors are breathing a sigh of

relief that they believe the worst of the coronavirus is behind

us," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Investment

Management in Chicago.

Also, he said, "Investors are feeling emboldened because

central banks have got their back."

Apple Inc AAPL.O rose 1.5%, recouping most of the ground

lost on Tuesday on a surprise sales warning that highlighted

concerns about the impact of the virus on global supply chains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 145.7 points,

or 0.5%, to 29,377.89, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 20.08 points,

or 0.60%, to 3,390.37, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added

97.01 points, or 1%, to 9,829.76.

The S&P 500 technology sector .SPLRCT was up 1.2%.

Also helping the technology sector was a 5.3% gain in

chipmaker Nvidia Corp NVDA.O after Bernstein raised its shares

to "outperform."

Among other stocks, Garmin Ltd GRMN.O jumped 7.3% after

the wearable fitness devices maker forecast full-year revenue

above analysts' estimates.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a

1.59-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.93-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 77 new 52-week highs and five new lows;

the Nasdaq Composite recorded 161 new highs and 47 new lows.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.