Major US stock indices closed in positive territory

Major US stocks rose significantly after U.S. President Trump wrote on Twitter that the United States was “very close to a major deal with China,” and WSJ reported that U.S. resellers proposed lowering Chinese import tariffs by 50% $360 billion worth of goods, as well as canceling a new round of tariffs on Chinese goods, the introduction of which is scheduled for December 15.

However, the Chinese publication Global Times was skeptical about Trump's tweet, saying the US president’s announcement of the deal "could just be another trick to stimulate stock markets." It also added that “China wants to see real actions, not just words.”

Market participants also studied US data. According to a report from the Department of Labor, producer prices in the US did not change in November, as rising food and gas prices were offset by lower costs of services, indicating moderate inflation despite recent consumer price increases. In the 12 months to November, the producer price index rose 1.1%, which corresponds to the growth in October, which was the smallest increase since October 2016. Economists predicted that the consumer price index would rise by 0.2% per month and increase by 1.2% year on year.

In a separate report, the Department of Labor reported that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to more than a two-year high last week, but this probably does not signal an increase in layoffs, since the data tends to be unstable since Thanksgiving . Initial jobless claims increased by 49,000 to 252,000, seasonally adjusted for the week ending December 7, which is the highest since September 2017. Economists forecast that the number of applications will increase to 213,000.

Almost all DOW components completed trading in positive territory (28 out of 30). The biggest gainers were Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO; + 3.26%). Outsider were the shares of The Boeing Co. (BA; -0.87%).

Most S&P sectors recorded an increase. The raw materials sector grew the most (+ 1.6%). The decrease was shown by the conglomerate sector (-0.3%) and the utilities sector (-0.3%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 28,132.05 +220.75 + 0.79%

S&P 500 3,168.57 +26.94 + 0.86%

Nasdaq 100 8,717.32 +63.27 + 0.73%