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* Economic data cheers investors up along with trade mood
* Nordstrom up on forecast raise, Gap rises after report
* Tesla drops after unveiling electric pickup truck
* Indexes up: Dow 0.39%, S&P 0.22%, Nasdaq 0.16%
(Updates to close, adds commentary)
By Sinéad Carew
Nov 22 (Reuters) - Wall Street advanced on Friday as both
Washington and Beijing made positive comments on the potential
for a trade deal between the world's two biggest economies and
upbeat domestic economic data helped to ease investor worries.
U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News a trade deal was
"potentially very close" following remarks by President Xi
Jinping that Beijing wanted to work out an initial agreement.
The S&P 500 and the Dow showed their biggest daily gains in
a lackluster week marked by uncertainty, with a report
suggesting the delay of a trade truce to 2020 and U.S. lawmakers
passing two bills supporting protesters in Hong Kong, which
could complicate U.S.-China talks.
Strategists said it helped that Trump was vague on Friday
about whether he would sign or veto the bills. Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney
Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, attributed Friday's gains to
strong U.S. manufacturing data as well as the improving mood on
trade. He said investors were cautious about the apparent trade
progress, however.
“President Trump saying it's close is news we've heard
before. How close is close? Close but not quite or close but I
could change my mind?" he said. "That's what's keeping the
market on its heels at the moment, keeping the move a little bit
more timid.”
Manufacturing output accelerated in November to its fastest
pace in seven months and services activity picked up more than
expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 109.33 points,
or 0.39%, to 27,875.62, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 6.75 points,
or 0.22%, to 3,110.29 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
13.67 points, or 0.16%, to 8,519.89.
Still, the S&P snapped its six-week winning streak, while
the tech-heavy Nasdaq registered its first weekly drop in eight
weeks and the Dow showed a weekly loss after four weeks of
gains. A largely better-than-expected third-quarter corporate
earnings season contributed to recent rallies.
Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors closed higher, led by
a 0.76% gain in financials .SPSY and a 0.65% rise in consumer
discretionary .SPLRCD .
Nordstrom Inc JWN.N rose 10.6% after the retailer raised
its 2019 forecast and reported third-quarter profit above
expectations. Gap Inc GPS.N shares rose 4.4% as
the retailer beat lowered quarterly profit estimates days after
it cut its annual forecast and replaced its longtime chief
executive officer. Shares of Tesla Inc TSLA.O fell 6% as Wall Street
questioned the look of its newly unveiled electric pickup truck,
whose "armored glass" windows shattered in a demonstration.
Intuit Inc INTU.O dropped 4.2% after the income-tax filing
software maker forecast second-quarter profit below estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.50-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.40-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 17 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 60 new highs and 84 new lows.
On U.S. exchanges, 5.96 billion shares changed hands
compared with the 7.03 billion average for the last 20 sessions.