Wall Street hits new highs again after US-China trade deal talks
US markets continued their record run this evening, once again closing at new highs after the US and China reaffirmed their commitment to President Donald Trump’s much-touted trade deal.
Although the gains were more modest than yesterday, the benchmark S&P 500 closed up 0.4 per cent at 3,443 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq punched up three-quarters of a per cent to 11,466 points.
The rise meant that Wall Street’s bull run continued apace, with further optimism over potential coronavirus treatments pushing stocks up once again.
Since collapsing in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have gone from strength to strength in what is the fastest recovery from a bear market on record.
Only the Dow Jones is yet to reclaim its pre-coronavirus highs.
Today’s surge was based largely on the news that the US had held “constructive” talks with China on its phase one trade deal.
Tensions between the two nations have been strained of late for a number of reasons, with Trump abruptly calling off scheduled negotiations 10 days ago.
However, a statement from the US trade representative said the countries had discussed intellectual property rights, as well as other issues that were presenting complications.
“Both sides see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement”, the statement read.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro added that the deal was “alive and well”.
In addition, the news that drugs giant Astrazeneca had begun trials of its coronavirus antibody treatment also boosted traders’ sentiment.
The London-listed firm said the study would evaluate if AZD7442 was “safe and tolerable” in up to 48 healthy participants between the ages of 18 and 55 years.
If the early-stage trial shows the treatment is safe, AstraZeneca said it would proceed to test it as both a preventative treatment for Covid-19 and a medicine for patients who have it