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* Trump comments tamp down investor fears
* Iraq military says two rockets fell in Baghdad
* Walgreens Boots slides on quarterly profit miss
* Indexes up: Dow 0.6%, S&P 0.5%, Nasdaq 0.7%
(Updates to close)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended higher on
Wednesday, but the day's uneven path showed investors'
sensitivity to any signs of turmoil in the Middle East, with
stocks rising on comments by President Donald Trump and paring
gains on reports of blasts in Baghdad.
Trump spoke at a White House briefing after Iran's missile
strikes overnight on military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq.
The U.S. president said the strikes had not harmed any Americans
and that Tehran appeared to be standing down. Comments earlier from Iran's foreign minister that the
country did not seek an escalation and a tweet from Trump that
"All is well!" also helped calm investor jitters.
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record intraday highs, but
major indexes cut their gains late in the day following reports
of two blasts heard in Baghdad. After the bell, Iraq's military
said two rockets had fallen inside Baghdad's Green Zone but
there were no casualties. "The measured tones coming out of the Trump administration
potentially dialing back from a tit-for-tat reaction on balance
is positive, but the market is going to react to
minute-by-minute news of increased tensions in the Middle East,"
said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent
Advisor Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Nasdaq registered a record high close and most S&P 500
sectors rose, while the S&P 500 energy index .SPNY fell 1.7%
as oil prices slumped.
Global markets have been rattled by concerns about rising
tensions in the Middle East after the U.S. killing of
influential Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 161.41 points,
or 0.56%, to 28,745.09, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 15.87 points,
or 0.49%, to 3,253.05, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
60.66 points, or 0.67%, to 9,129.24.
Among the day's decliners, Boeing BA.N fell 1.8% after a
737-800 jet made by the company and belonging to a Ukrainian
airline burst into flames shortly after takeoff from Tehran,
killing all 176 people aboard. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O slid 5.8% after its
quarterly profit missed expectations. Shares in rival CVS Health
CVS.N fell 1.3%. On the upside, Lennar Corp LEN.N ended up 0.8% after the
No. 2 U.S. homebuilder beat quarterly profit estimates and
forecast 2020 homes sales above analysts' estimates as lower
home prices and mortgage rates drive demand. Adding to the upbeat mood, the ADP National Employment
Report showed private payrolls jumped by 202,000 jobs last
month, well above the 160,000 rise expected by economists polled
by Reuters. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.51-to-1 ratio
The S&P 500 posted 6258 new 52-week highs and no new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 118106 new highs and 149 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 7.78 billion shares, compared
to the 7.01 billion average for the full session over the last
20 trading days