REUTERS-The Dow got a
healthy boost from Merck on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq
inched higher moments before President-elect Donald Trump's
first formal news
conference got underway.
Investors will
closely watch Trump's speech, looking for clues on where his priorities as the
new president lie, after taking office on Jan. 20 and how he plans boost
economic growth.
Trump's election in
November sparked a record-setting rally. But, investors now want evidence on if
and how he keeps his campaign-trail promises of stimulating the economy though
increased public spending, tax cuts and repatriating U.S. companies' funds from
overseas.
The dollar .DXY,
which has also basked in Trump's victory, rose to 102.79. However, concerns
over some of his protectionist statements have kept investors wary.
"I worry that
it is going to be more about the distractions that he will address as opposed
to the pro-growth policies and that is going to be the important factor for
investors," said Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer of Penn Mutual
Asset Management.
Oil prices also
helped keep the equity market afloat, rising for the first time in three days
after Saudi Arabia provided details of a February supply cut to some of its
Asian customers. [O/R]
Investors are also
looking out to the corporate earnings season, which kicks off with big banks on
Friday, to judge if financial results can support the lofty valuations Wall
Street is trading at.
S&P 500
companies' earnings are estimated to have risen 5.8 percent in the fourth
quarter, the best in three years, largely helped by financials stocks,
according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
At 11:05 a.m. ET,
the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 92.26 points, or 0.46 percent, at 19,947.79, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 3.65 points, or 0.16 percent, at 2,272.55 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was
up 6.09 points, or 0.11 percent, at 5,557.90.
Seven of the 11
major S&P sectors were higher, with the healthcare sector's .SPXHC 0.23
percent rise the biggest boost. The sector is set for its seventh straight day
of gains.
Merck (MRK.N)
surged 5 percent to $62.91 after the FDA agreed to a speedy review of the
company's application to combine immunotherapy with other drugs to treat lung
cancer. The stock gave the biggest push to the S&P and the Dow.
AstraZeneca (AZN.N)
and Bristol-Myers (BMY.N),
which are also developing similar therapies, dropped 1.3 percent and
2.7percent, respectively.
Rite Aid (RAD.N)
rose 3.8 percent to $8.64 after the NY Post reported that the drugstore
operator's deal to be acquired by Walgreens (WBA.O)
would be approved this month. Walgreens rose 2.6 percent.
Advancing issues
outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,565 to 1,212. On the Nasdaq, 1,324
issues fell and 1,285 advanced.
The S&P 500
index showed 12 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded
59 new highs and eight new lows.
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