Microvast Holdings announces departure of chief financial officer
* Nike falls as North America revenue disappoints
* Carnival Corp gains
* Consumer spending rose last month
* Indexes up: Dow 0.3%, S&P 0.5%, Nasdaq 0.4%
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks hit record closing
highs again on Friday and the S&P 500 registered its biggest
weekly percentage gain since early September after data showed a
rise in consumer spending and investors continued to be
optimistic about developments in the U.S.-China trade dispute.
President Donald Trump claimed progress on issues from trade
to North Korea and Hong Kong after speaking with Chinese
President Xi Jinping, dispelling fears of another escalation in
the two countries' trade war. The S&P 500 also hit a seventh straight intraday all-time
high in its longest streak of record intraday highs since
October 2017, and the Nasdaq ended with gains for an eighth
session in a row.
"This time of year tends to be a tailwind for the market,"
said Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital
Associates in Greenwood, South Carolina, who helps manage about
$950 million.
"There's nothing obvious between now and the end of the year
that would change the direction we're headed. So it's kind of a
melt-up."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 78.13 points,
or 0.28%, to 28,455.09, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 15.85 points,
or 0.49%, to 3,221.22 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
37.74 points, or 0.42%, to 8,924.96.
The S&P 500 rose for a fourth straight week, gaining 1.7%
for the week, its biggest weekly gain since early September.
Consumer spending, a key to U.S. economic growth and a major
focus for investors, rose 0.4% in November, adding to a string
of upbeat data that have helped put a damper on recession fears,
which dogged markets earlier this year.
Volume on U.S. exchanges hit the highest in a year, boosted
by "quadruple witching," in which investors unwind positions in
futures and options contracts before their expiration. About
11.53 billion shares changed hands on Friday.
Nike Inc NKE.N was down 1.2% after the world's largest
sportswear maker reported lower-than-expected growth in revenue
from North America. Cruise operators were among top percentage gainers in the
S&P 500, led by Carnival Corp CCL.N , which jumped 7.6% after
forecasting a 2020 profit largely above estimates. On the flip side, shares of U.S. Steel Corp X.N tumbled
10.8% after the company said it expects a bigger-than-expected
fourth-quarter loss. The recent record run could make it harder for stocks to
rally once the next earnings season begins, Todd said, noting
that "there could be increased volatility."
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.60-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.39-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 77 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 199 new highs and 38 new lows.
S&P 500 Records https://tmsnrt.rs/2Mf6LNo
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