US close: Trump's 'phenomenal' comments lift stocks
US stocks were led higher on Thursday as consumer and finance stocks were bucked up President Donald Trump's pledge to unveil something "phenomenal" on tax plan in the coming weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.59% at 20,172.40, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite both gained 0.58% to finish at 2,307.87 and 5,715.18.
A plunge in weekly jobless claims to their lowest levels since November, 234k, and a rally in oil prices provided further lubrication for the markets.
Following heavy losses for crude in the previous session, West Texas Intermediate bounced back 1.3% to $53.03 per barrel and Brent crude was almost 1% firmer at $55.65.
The dollar, meanwhile, topped 113 against the yen Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday.
Against the pound and the euro the greenback was 0.35% higher at $1.2497 and $1.0659.
Analyst Naeem Aslam at Think Markets said EURUSD had the potential to revisit 1.0451.
"Trump who had a dovish stance is no longer sure if weaker or stronger dollar is good for the economy and we are anticipating that he may be changing his view. Any strength in the dollar is going to push the euro lower."
With the dollar yen testing stronger ground again and gold out of favour, IG analyst Chris Beauchamp said markets may be "on the cusp of a fresh recovery in risk assets, just a day after the market seemed poised to fall heavily".
"A fresh all-time high in the S&P 500 could be taken as proof that the rally is back on, but with a weekend looming traders may find it difficult to muster up much enthusiasm. Particular signs of strength are seen in US energy stocks, with the sector ETF up 1.1% today and 3% off the lows of the week. A turn in risk appetite needs the support of key sectors like this to be sustainable," Beauchamp said.
In corporate news, President Trump was also having an effect on Twitter, said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, as the social media company's shares fell sharply on release of quarterly numbers.
“It does appear that the Trump effect has helped Twitter to boost its user base, with a 4% rise in monthly active users, with daily active users also rising due to the Presidential debates," Hewson said.
While headline earnings came in ahead of expectations, revenues fell short and management's guidance for revenues was slashed to between $75m to $95m, "a horrendous mark down and well down from the $190m most had been expecting" Hewson said.
In other corporate news, consumer focused Nike topped the Dow as it completed its best four-day move in 14 months, on no specific news, while Walmart was second biggest riser.
Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase followed, in a rally linked to Trump's tax comments.
Dun & Bradstreet was given a lower rating by investors after its fourth quarter earnings missed forecasts but revenues beat expectations.
Coca-Cola lost some fizz as it predicted a fall in 2017 profit, but Dunkin’ Brands made investors some extra dough by swinging to a profit and beating earnings expectations.
Kellogg’s made a splash as profit rose above expectations, even though it cut sales forecast for 2017.
Electric car maker Tesla crawled higher following a report it will produce test versions of its Model 3 vehicle.
Viacom clicked higher after posting a better-than-expected quarterly profit.
Dow Jones - Risers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $55.31 2.65%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $69.08 1.87%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $241.55 1.61%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $87.20 1.44%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $64.06 1.14%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $93.96 1.13%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.81 0.91%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $118.78 0.82%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $32.38 0.75%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $31.50 0.74%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $35.46 -2.53%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.25 -1.83%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $110.09 -0.28%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $124.48 -0.15%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $160.44 0.08%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $64.39 0.11%
Boeing Co. (BA) $164.25 0.29%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $132.42 0.29%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $88.66 0.38%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $81.84 0.44%
S&P 500 - Risers
Teradata Corp. (TDC) $32.74 8.52%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $37.38 8.25%
Allegion (ALLE) $71.73 6.11%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $191.59 5.45%
Equifax Inc. (EFX) $128.12 5.03%
Roper Technologies Inc (ROP) $202.11 4.76%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $60.97 4.62%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $43.89 4.33%
Kellogg Co. (K) $76.44 4.01%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $207.03 3.70%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (DNB) $101.88 -16.81%
Sealed Air Corp. (SEE) $47.13 -6.13%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $70.93 -3.89%
Westrock Company (WRK) $52.31 -3.17%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $35.46 -2.53%
Masco Corp. (MAS) $33.06 -2.16%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $116.38 -1.88%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $65.59 -1.86%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.25 -1.83%
International Paper Co. (IP) $52.16 -1.77%