
Dow advances, S&P 500 hits record after tariff deals
All three major indices on Wall Street gained ground on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Wall Street stocks advanced on Wednesday with the Dow logging strong gains and the S&P 500 closing at a record for the third time in a row after the United States unveiled more tariff deals.
The Dow Jones added 1.1 percent to 45,010 while the S&P 500 bounced 0.8 percent to 6,358.
The Nasdaq climbed 0.6 percent to 21,020.
The gains came after US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Washington had reached tariff agreements with Japan and the Philippines, and as officials signalled optimism in trade talks with the European Union.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz voiced optimism that EU and United States negotiators are making progress in talks to resolve a trans-Atlantic trade row.
Several EU diplomats also said the bloc was examining a US proposal involving a baseline tariff of 15 percent and sectoral carve-outs still to be decided.
An ongoing wave of company earnings reports also helped buoy major US indexes.
For the most part, "companies are saying that they can deal with tariffs at the levels they're at", shift supply chains or cope with modest price increases, said Pat Donlon of Fiduciary Trust Company.
"It will be interesting to see, though, some of the consumer discretionary companies that are more exposed to production in China, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Asia that report later in earnings season," he said. (AFP)
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