S&P, Nasdaq hit new record ahead US-China trade deal signing

Stocks rallied to fresh records Monday as investors look ahead to the signing of a partial trade deal with China and the start of earnings season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was once again nearing the 29,000 level after climbing above it for the first time Friday. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at fresh records.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	37879.87	+144.76	+0.38%
SP500	S&P 500	5067.49	+5.67	+0.11%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	15913.329138	+28.31	+0.18%

A delegation led by Liu He, China’s vice premier and chief trade negotiator, arrived in Washington on Monday and is expected to stay until the phase one trade agreement is signed Wednesday. Additionally, China is expected to lose its label of being a currency manipulator, FOX Business has learned. The move was part of a reported ask from Beijing as part of agreeing to other terms of the phase one deal. That report could come as early as Monday or before Wednesday.

On the earnings front, the big banks are in focus as Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo kick off earnings season ahead of Tuesday’s opening bell.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
C	CITIGROUP INC.	58.56	-1.12	-1.88%
JPM	JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.	182.89	+0.10	+0.05%
GS	THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC.	400.88	+11.39	+2.92%
WFC	WELLS FARGO & CO.	56.97	+0.50	+0.89%
MS	MORGAN STANLEY	86.99	+0.80	+0.93%
BAC	BANK OF AMERICA CORP.	35.95	+0.16	+0.45%

Retailers traded mixed after giving updates on the holiday season. Lululemon and Crocs raised their guidance while Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters reaffirmed their outlooks.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
LULU	LULULEMON ATHLETICA INC.	334.76	-1.37	-0.41%
CROX	CROCS INC.	120.30	-3.06	-2.48%
ANF	ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO.	112.84	+1.01	+0.90%
AEO	AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC.	22.65	-0.42	-1.82%

Elsewhere, Biogen agreed to buy an early-stage experimental treatment for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's dieseases from Pfizer for an upfront payment of $75 million plus potential milestones and royalties.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
BIIB	BIOGEN INC.	196.80	-1.38	-0.70%
PFE	PFIZER INC.	25.82	-0.09	-0.33%

Tesla shares topped $500 for the first time after Oppenheimer raised its price target to $612 a share, the highest among Wall Street banks.

Ford Motor Company was little changed after announcing its China sales fell for the third year in a row, declining 26.1 percent year over year in 2019.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
TSLA	TESLA INC.	161.48	-9.57	-5.59%
F	FORD MOTOR CO.	12.23	-0.38	-3.01%

Anixter International accepted a $100 a share stock and cash takeover offer from Wesco International, ending its bidding war with private-equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
AXE	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
WCC	WESCO INTL	155.76	-4.15	-2.60%

Looking at commodities, gold was lower for the fourth time in five days nearing $1,549 an ounce. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate was also weaker, trading around $58 per barrel.

U.S. Treasurys were slightly lower with the yield on the 10-year note higher by 1.2 basis points at 1.839 percent.

In Europe, Britain’s FTSE was up 0.3 percent after the Office for National Statistics said the U.K. economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.3 percent in November. France’s CAC was little changed while Germany’s DAX was down 0.2 percent.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rallied 1.1 percent to pace the advance. China’s Shanghai Composite and Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.8 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.