(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Best Buy jumps on solid holiday-quarter profit forecast
* Disney gains on bullish streaming service signups report
* Dollar Tree slumps on dour forecast as tariffs weigh
* Consumer confidence in November weaker than expected
* Indexes up: Dow 0.16%, S&P 0.19%, Nasdaq 0.21%
(Changes comment, updates market action)
By Arjun Panchadar
Nov 26 (Reuters) - Wall Street's three main indexes hit
all-time highs on Tuesday, as comments by President Donald Trump
on trade as well as gains for Disney and Best Buy countered weak
consumer confidence data.
The United States was in the "final throes" in its attempt
to reach a deal with China, Trump said, although he added
Washington stood with protesters in Hong Kong, a sore point with
Beijing. Walt Disney Co DIS.N gained 2.1% after a report that its
streaming service was averaging nearly a million new subscribers
a day. The stock propped up the Dow Jones Industrial Average and
the benchmark S&P 500. Rising trade truce expectations, upbeat domestic economic
data and robust third-quarter earnings have put the market back
on an upward track after a torrid summer.
"When you take a look at all the (trade) comments that have
come out, the markets have reacted a little bit to it, but it
certainly creates a positive bias," said Paul Nolte, portfolio
manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago.
"The second part is that Thanksgiving week tends to be
positive for stocks as well."
A third interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this year
has also played a role in boosting risk appetite, and Fed Chair
Jerome Powell said on Monday monetary policy was "well
positioned" to support the strong labor market. However, doubts over the strength of the U.S. consumer
linger and data on Tuesday showed the Conference Board's U.S.
consumer confidence index missed analysts' projections.
Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher. The
consumer discretionary sector rose 0.66% and was the biggest
boost, powered by a 10.4% jump in shares of Best Buy Co Inc
BBY.N following a strong holiday-quarter profit forecast.
But Dollar Tree Inc DLTR.O tumbled 15.3% after it
projected holiday-quarter profit below estimates, signaling the
fallout from the trade dispute. Best Buy was the top gainer on the S&P 500, while Dollar
Tree was the biggest drag on the S&P and the Nasdaq.
At 11:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 43.60 points, or 0.16%, at 28,110.07, while the S&P 500
.SPX was up 5.91 points, or 0.19%, at 3,139.55. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 18.50 points, or 0.21%, at 8,650.99.
Among other stocks, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co HPE.N
fell 9.6% as the enterprise software maker missed fourth-quarter
revenue estimates. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.31-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.16-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 28 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 91 new highs and 47 new lows.