Major US stock indices closed in positive territory

The main US stock indexes rose moderately, as the possibility of concluding a trade transaction between the US and China and the strong reporting of the corporate segment strengthened investor optimism.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he expects to sign a “very large part” of the trade deal with China earlier than expected, but has not specified a time frame. It was previously planned that the so-called “Phase 1” agreement with China would be signed at a summit in Chile on November 16-17. This strengthened the optimism of market participants, triggered on Friday by Washington's statements that they were “close to completion” of a number of provisions in the trade agreement with Beijing. Xinhua China State News Agency also announced progress in the text of the "first phase" of the trade agreement. Recent news has brought relief to investors who are worried about the negative impact of the trade war on the global economy.

Meanwhile, AT&T and WBA statements supported the corporate segment's trend to show exceeded earnings for the third quarter. According to FactSet, of the 202 companies in the S&P 500 index that have already released their last quarter results, 78% showed higher than expected earnings.

Additional support to the market was provided by increased expectations of an increase in interest rates at the October meeting later this week. Disappointing economic data released earlier this month increased the likelihood that the Fed would lower its base interest rate by 0.25 percentage points. up to 95.1% from 49.2% last month (according to the CME FedWatch Tool). The Fed will announce its decision on Wednesday.

Most DOW components completed trading in positive territory (21 out of 30). The biggest gainers were Microsoft Corp. (MSFT; + 2.41%). Outsiders were shares of McDonald's Corporation (MCD; -1.60%).

Almost all S&P sectors recorded an increase. Only the utilities sector decreased (-1.1%). The technological sector has grown the most (+ 1.2%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 27,090.72 +132.66 +0.49%

S&P 500 3,039.42 +16.87 +0.56%

Nasdaq 100 8,325.99 +82.87 +1.01%