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 U.S. stocks finished near their best levels on Friday, with the marking its loftiest close since early November amid continuing hopes for a trade deal between the U.S. and China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 181 points, or 0.7%, at 26,032, the S&P 500 index advanced 0.6% to finish at 2,793, while the Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 0.9% at 7,528, on a preliminary basis. It was the ninth straight weekly gain for the Dow and the Nasdaq, marking the first time since 1964 that the indexes rose in the first 8 weeks of a calendar year. The newfound buoyancy for stocks after a bruising December is largely pegged to softening from the Federal Reserve, who effectively put its interest-rate policy on hold, while growing hopes that Beijing and Washington can strike a tariff pact also are bolstering market optimism, at the moment. All three equity benchmarks finished at their highest levels since Nov. 8. On Friday, President Donald Trump described negotiations with Chin as having a "very good chance" of resulting in a deal, emphasizing that a a March 1 deadline for imposing new sanctions could be extended. In corporate news, shares of Kraft Heinz Co. sank 27.5%, representing its worst decline on record after a number of disclosures.
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Crude-oil futures rallied Friday to a high of more than three months, with gains padding the commodity's weekly advance, as U.S. equities and other assets found traction against the backdrop of upbeat U.S.-China trade talks. April West Texas Intermediate crude gained 30 cents, or 0.5%, to finish at $57.26 a barrel, marking its highest finish since Nov. 12, according to FactSet data. For the week, WTI booked a roughly 3% gain. The oil market had finished lower Thursday after a U.S. government report revealed that domestic supplies climbed for a fifth straight week as production jumped to a record level, but ongoing evidence of declines in world-wide output capped price losses for the session. On Friday, for example, Baker Hughes weekly rig-count data showed the rigs drilling for oil edged back by four to 853. News reports said President Donald Trump would meet with China's top trade negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, which has underscored optimism that a deal between China and the U.S. will strike a trade deal soon. China is a big importer of oil and its tiff on tariffs with Washington has been a drag on the commodity until recent signs of progress on talks emerged.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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