Investors dismiss impeachment fears, stocks rally
Stocks rallied on Wednesday, closing near the highs of the session after President Trump signaled a trade deal with China could happen "sooner than you think" this and after he and Japanese Prime Minister Abe signed the first phase of a trade deal between the two countries.
The Nasdaq Composite led the gains rising 1 percent with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 gaining 0.6 percent.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 44782 | -128.65 | -0.29% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 6047.15 | +14.77 | +0.24% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 19403.947849 | +185.78 | +0.97% |
Investors bought stocks, shrugging off House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's announcement of formal impeachment inquiry against Trump to probe accusations that he tried to convince the president of Ukraine to look into the business dealings of former Vice President Joe Biden’s son. Today, Trump released the transcript of his call between the two leaders in an attempt to show transparency.
Following the impeachment announcement, hedge fund billionaire investor Jeff Gundlach, in an exclusive interview with FOX Business, called the impeachment inquiry "theatrics."
Altria and Philip Morris closed mixed after the two sides said they ended their merger talks. The announcement came alongside the news that Altria chief growth officer K.C. Crosthwaite was named CEO at Juul Labs. In November, Altria bought a 35 percent stake in Juul for $12.8 billion. Those shares have tumbled 17 percent this year, partly tied to the crackdown on Juul, say analysts.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MO | ALTRIA GROUP INC. | 56.03 | +0.05 | +0.09% |
| PM | PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL INC. | 131.21 | +0.82 | +0.63% |
On the earnings front, Nike gained, touching a fresh record, after beating on both the top and bottom lines and saying its China business posted double-digit growth despite the U.S.-China trade dispute.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NKE | NIKE INC. | 79.09 | +0.72 | +0.92% |
U.S. Treasurys were little changed with the 10-year yield hovering near 1.655 percent.
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FOX Business' Ken Martin contributed to this article.