Dow Jones Reaches Record High Amidst Positive Economic News
Stocks climbed to record highs Thursday following the Senate's acquittal of President Trump as well as China announcing plans to lower tariffs on U.S.-made goods and a strong read on U.S. productivity.
All three of the major averages clocked gains as investors digested a slew of positive earnings results and strong productivity data and as Trump took a victory lap in the East Room of the White House after his impeachment acquittal by the Senate.
"If we didn't win, the stock market would've crashed," he said. "The market was going up a lot before the election ... and then it went up tremendously from the time we won to the time we took office."
Trump was acquitted on both articles of impeachment late Wednesday, in a vote that was mostly along party lines.
On the economic front, U.S. productivity rose 1.7 percent for 2019, the strongest read since 2010, according to the Commerce Department. There is also enthusiasm ahead of Friday's monthly jobs read after the ADP report came in stronger than expected with 291,000 jobs in January, the best monthly gain in more than five years.
JANUARY JOBS REPORT EXPECTED TO SHOW SOLID START TO 2020
Early Thursday, Beijing announced it will be reducing tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. imports in response to the U.S. taking similar action. The tariffs reductions were part of the phase one trade deal that was announced last month. Also out Thursday, China's National Health Commission said more than 28,000 people have been sickened and 563 killed by the coronavirus outbreak.
Looking at stocks, Tesla remains in focus after shares plunged 17.2 percent Wednesday, making for their second-biggest drop on record.
Casper Sleep Inc. opened for trading at $14.50 a share after pricing its initial public offering at $12 a share, the low end of its range. The company was valued at about $470 million, or about half of what was expected one year ago.
On the earnings front, Twitter shares rallied after the company’s quarterly revenue hit $1 billion for the first time, and user growth topped estimates.
Peloton was under pressure after the maker of high-tech exercise bikes reported slowing sales growth and forecast fiscal third-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations.

Specialist Peter Giacchi, right, calls out prices on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Dunkin' Brands said fourth-quarter same-store sales were boosted by a shift in customer preferences to higher-priced coffees and the successful launch of its Beyond Meat breakfast sandwich.
Yum Brands slumped as sliding sales at its Pizza Hut unit weighed.
Looking at commodities, gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,565.10 an ounce and West Texas Intermediate crude oil added 0.4 percent to $50.95 a barrel after Russia rejected OPEC members’ attempts to cut supply in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
U.S. Treasurys edged up, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down 1 basis point to 1.639 percent.
In Europe, France's CAC gained 0.9 percent while Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE added 0.7 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
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Markets surged across Asia with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 2.6 percent, Japan’s Nikkei higher by 2.4 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite gaining 1.7 percent.
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