Stock market news: November 27, 2019 – Yahoo Finance

The S&P 500 opened at a record high Wednesday as trade optimism buoyed equities and a deluge of economic data came in stronger than expected.

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 11:14 a.m. ET:

• S&P 500 (^GSPC): +0.17%, or 5.43 points

• Dow (^DJI): +0.01%, or 3.52 points

• Nasdaq (^IXIC): +0.41%, or 35.71 points

• 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX): +2.7 bps to 1.767%

• Gold (GC=F): -0.45% to $1,453.80 per ounce

Both U.S. and Chinese officials have recently touted progress in reaching a phase one trade agreement, helping equities push to record levels after last week’s pause.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday afternoon that trade talks with China were nearly done and corroborated China’s account of a productive phone call between top trade negotiators from both sides earlier this week.

“We’re in the final throes of a very important deal,” Trump said at the White House, according to Bloomberg. “It’s going very well.”

Separately, Trump told former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly that he has been waiting on a deal because “it’s got to be a good deal” for the U.S., underscoring confidence that the relative strength of the domestic economy will offer leverage in negotiating an agreement. Government economic data Tuesday showed the U.S. goods trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed to the most in over a year in October as imports contracted to the lowest level in two years. And on Wednesday, U.S. economy activity was shown to have risen more than previously reported in the third quarter.

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But in China, economic data has continued to deteriorate as tariffs undercut manufacturing sector profitability. Industrial profits slumped 9.9% in October to 427.56 billion yuan, or about $60.75 billion, according to National Bureau of Statistics data Wednesday. The decline in industrial earnings steepened from September’s 5.3% decrease and marked the largest drop since the beginning of the year.

ECONOMY: U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.1% pace in the third quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ second print on 3Q GDP. This was a faster pace compared to the first print of 1.9% reported in late October. Consensus economists had expected this rate to have remained unchanged, according to Bloomberg data.

“Within the second estimate for the third quarter, upward revisions to private inventory investment, nonresidential fixed investment and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) was partially offset by a downward revision to state and local government spending,” the Bureau of Economic Analysis said in a statement.

Beneath the headline GDP print, personal consumption – which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economy activity – rose 2.9%, matching the previously reported pace.

Core personal consumption expenditures rose 2.1% quarter on quarter, or slightly below the 2.2% increase previously reported. And in a separate report later Wednesday morning, core PCE was shown to have risen just 1.6% in October over last year, below the 1.7% consensus and print from the month prior. Core PCE excludes more volatile food and energy prices and serves as the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of underlying price changes.

Durable goods orders unexpectedly rose by 0.6% in October, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday in its preliminary monthly report. This topped consensus expectations for a 0.9% decline in orders for durable goods, or those intended to last at least three years. In September, durable goods orders were downwardly revised to see a 1.4% drop, steeper than the 1.2% decline reported earlier.

Meanwhile, closely monitored non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft increased 1.2% in October after an upwardly revised 0.5% decline in September. This was also a surprise increase, versus a 0.2% decrease expected for the month. This core measure of capital goods serves as a proxy for future business investment.