The main U.S. stock
indexes hit record intraday highs on Monday, with the S&P 500's market
capitalization topping $20 trillion for the first time ever, as the "Trump
trade"
was jump-started on renewed optimism about the economy.
President Donald
Trump vowed last Thursday to make a major tax announcement in the next few
weeks, rekindling a rally that has stalled amid concerns over his protectionist
stance and lack of clarity on policy reforms.
Financials .SPSY
jumped 1.2 percent, with banks leading the way. The S&P 500 banks .SPXBK
index leaped 1.5 percent. The industrial sector .SPLRCI gained 0.84 percent.
Financials and industrials are seen benefiting the most, among the 11 major
S&P sectors, from Trump's policies.
The S&P has
surged 8.3 percent since Trump's Nov. 8 election through Friday's close, fueled
by expectations Trump would lower corporate taxes, reduce regulations and
increase infrastructure spending.
"At some point
there has to be actions that match the words and I think we are getting closer
to that point," said Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist at
Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management.
Fundamentals also
remain robust, with strong economic data in recent weeks supported by upbeat
corporate results. S&P 500 companies are on track for their strongest
profit growth in nine quarters, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
"What is
underlying this whole Trump rhetoric is that fundamentals in the world,
including the U.S., are getting better," Schutte said.
At 12:27 p.m. ET,
the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 128.69 points, or 0.63 percent, at 20,398.06.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was
up 28.32 points, or 0.49 percent, at 5,762.45 and the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 10.33 points, or 0.44 percent, at 2,326.43.
The S&P has not
dropped more than 1 percent since Trump's election victory. It has gained more
than 1 percent on only two occasions, the day after Election Day and on Dec. 7.
Among the weak spots
were telecom stocks .SPLRCL, which dropped 1.04 percent after Verizon's (VZ.N)
brought back its unlimited data plan, sparking fears of a price war.
Verizon was down
0.98 percent. AT&T (T.N) fell
1.1 percent, T-Mobile (TMUS.O)
sank 3 percent, Sprint (S.N) fell
1.2 percent.
Apple (AAPL.O)
was the top stock on the S&P and the Nasdaq, rising 1.2 percent and closing
on its record high.
Chemours (CC.N)
rose 13 percent after the company and DuPont (DD.N)
agreed to settle lawsuits related to a chemical leak for about $671 million,
which Jefferies said was $300 million less than their consensus. DuPont was up
about 1 percent.
Advancing issues
outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,704 to 1,165. On the Nasdaq, 1,683
issues rose and 1,120 fell.
The S&P 500
index showed 64 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded
166 new highs and 14 new lows.
*REUTERS*
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