Major US stock indices increased significantly on Wednesday, helped by the appreciation of Tesla shares (TSLA), as well as the growth of almost all sectors. In addition, market participants analyzed statistics on the United States and the next signals related to international trade.
The Commerce Department reported that the US trade deficit fell to a seven-month low in April, as exports rose to a record high, supported by an increase in supplies of industrial materials and soybeans. According to the report, the trade deficit decreased by 2.1% to $ 46.2 billion, which is the lowest level since September. Data for March were revised to show that the trade balance deficit fell to $ 47.2 billion, instead of the previously announced $ 49.0 billion. Economists predicted a trade deficit without changes in the amount of $ 49.0 billion in April.
In addition, as it became known, labor productivity in the United States grew more slowly than originally anticipated in the first three months of 2018, becoming a potential head-on wind for stronger economic growth. The productivity of non-agricultural workers, measured as the release of goods and services per hour of work, increased by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to seasonal fluctuations, the Ministry of Labor said. This was below the initial growth estimate of 0.7% and follows an unreviewed increase of 0.3% in the fourth quarter.
Most of the components of DOW have finished trading in positive territory (26 out of 30). The leader of growth was the shares of The Boeing Company (BA, + 3.07%). Outsider were shares of General Electric Company (GE, -0.91%).
Almost all sectors of S & P recorded a rise. The financial sector grew most (+ 1.2%). The decrease was shown only by the utilities sector (-1.7%).
At closing:
Dow 25,145.98 +346.00 +1.40%
S&P 500 2,772.28 +23.48 +0.85%
Nasdaq 100 7,689.24 +51.38 +0.67%
U.S. stock-index futures were flat on Wednesday, amid signs of easing trade tensions and falling oil prices.
Global Stocks:
| Index/commodity | Last | Today's Change, points | Today's Change, % |
| Nikkei | 22,625.73 | +86.19 | +0.38% |
| Hang Seng | 31,259.10 | +165.65 | +0.53% |
| Shanghai | 3,115.68 | +1.48 | +0.05% |
| S&P/ASX | 6,025.10 | +30.20 | +0.50% |
| FTSE | 7,704.57 | +17.77 | +0.23% |
| CAC | 5,449.27 | -11.68 | -0.21% |
| DAX | 12,812.27 | +25.14 | +0.20% |
| Crude | $65.16 | | -0.55% |
| Gold | $1,302.70 | | +0.04% |
(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)
| 3M Co | MMM | 201.9 | 0.70(0.35%) | 1097 |
| ALCOA INC. | AA | 49.84 | 0.39(0.79%) | 1001 |
| ALTRIA GROUP INC. | MO | 56.35 | 0.02(0.04%) | 408 |
| Amazon.com Inc., NASDAQ | AMZN | 1,705.15 | 8.80(0.52%) | 90847 |
| AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP | AIG | 53.96 | 0.12(0.22%) | 1400 |
| Apple Inc. | AAPL | 193.73 | 0.42(0.22%) | 240821 |
| AT&T Inc | T | 32.75 | 0.07(0.21%) | 18183 |
| Barrick Gold Corporation, NYSE | ABX | 13.01 | 0.05(0.39%) | 25802 |
| Boeing Co | BA | 362.25 | 2.15(0.60%) | 9967 |
| Caterpillar Inc | CAT | 153.84 | 0.83(0.54%) | 4343 |
| Chevron Corp | CVX | 122.78 | 0.05(0.04%) | 2860 |
| Cisco Systems Inc | CSCO | 43.77 | 0.10(0.23%) | 6846 |
| Citigroup Inc., NYSE | C | 67.1 | 0.34(0.51%) | 26027 |
| Deere & Company, NYSE | DE | 155.45 | 1.00(0.65%) | 1068 |
| Exxon Mobil Corp | XOM | 80.92 | 0.24(0.30%) | 6896 |
| Facebook, Inc. | FB | 191.2 | -1.74(-0.90%) | 252099 |
| FedEx Corporation, NYSE | FDX | 252.5 | 0.50(0.20%) | 158 |
| Ford Motor Co. | F | 11.82 | -0.01(-0.08%) | 28996 |
| Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., NYSE | FCX | 17.99 | 0.34(1.93%) | 27920 |
| General Electric Co | GE | 13.83 | 0.03(0.22%) | 73609 |
| General Motors Company, NYSE | GM | 43.6 | 0.19(0.43%) | 3371 |
| Goldman Sachs | GS | 229.55 | 1.21(0.53%) | 4105 |
| Google Inc. | GOOG | 1,142.30 | 2.64(0.23%) | 9125 |
| Home Depot Inc | HD | 192.49 | 0.55(0.29%) | 1545 |
| Intel Corp | INTC | 56.6 | 0.07(0.12%) | 49744 |
| International Business Machines Co... | IBM | 144.38 | 0.68(0.47%) | 3708 |
| Johnson & Johnson | JNJ | 121.86 | 0.38(0.31%) | 1234 |
| JPMorgan Chase and Co | JPM | 108.5 | 0.66(0.61%) | 16307 |
| McDonald's Corp | MCD | 159.9 | 0.42(0.26%) | 2233 |
| Merck & Co Inc | MRK | 61.67 | 0.28(0.46%) | 2306 |
| Microsoft Corp | MSFT | 102.61 | 0.42(0.41%) | 44148 |
| Nike | NKE | 74.24 | 0.19(0.26%) | 1365 |
| Pfizer Inc | PFE | 36.6 | 0.16(0.44%) | 4309 |
| Procter & Gamble Co | PG | 74.18 | 0.21(0.28%) | 2543 |
| Starbucks Corporation, NASDAQ | SBUX | 55.91 | 0.23(0.41%) | 4955 |
| Tesla Motors, Inc., NASDAQ | TSLA | 302.5 | 11.37(3.91%) | 260257 |
| The Coca-Cola Co | KO | 43.3 | 0.19(0.44%) | 4251 |
| Travelers Companies Inc | TRV | 129.75 | 0.58(0.45%) | 300 |
| Twitter, Inc., NYSE | TWTR | 39.6 | -0.20(-0.50%) | 1592878 |
| United Technologies Corp | UTX | 126.59 | 0.64(0.51%) | 300 |
| UnitedHealth Group Inc | UNH | 247.47 | 3.04(1.24%) | 1962 |
| Verizon Communications Inc | VZ | 48.1 | 0.13(0.27%) | 913 |
| Visa | V | 134.38 | 0.82(0.61%) | 8179 |
| Wal-Mart Stores Inc | WMT | 84.9 | 0.28(0.33%) | 6257 |
| Walt Disney Co | DIS | 100.5 | 0.56(0.56%) | 1171 |
| Yandex N.V., NASDAQ | YNDX | 35.9 | 0.21(0.59%) | 4900 |
Twitter (TWTR) target raised to $50 from $40 at Argus
Int'l Paper (IP) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Mkts