Major US equity indices opened with solid gains on Thursday, boosted by easing trade tensions between the US and its key trading partners.
According to a report by German newspaper Handelsblatt, the US ambassador to Germany said that US President Donald Trump could abandon his threatened tariffs on imported cars from the EU if the bloc eliminates duties on the US cars.
The news partly offset heightening fears of a potential full-blown US-China trade war ahead of a July 6 deadline when the US is set to impose fresh tariffs of up to $50 billion on Chinese products, with China vowing to retaliate with the same value of tariffs on the US goods.
On the economic data front, the ADP report showed that private sector employers added 177K new jobs during the month of June, less than previous month’s 178K jobs and worse than 190K anticipated, though did little to dampen the prevalent risk-on mood.
Investors now look forward to the latest FOMC meeting minutes, which could provide fresh clues over the central bank’s monetary policy outlook and eventually drive sentiment surrounding perceived riskier assets – like equities.
Nevertheless, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed around 135-points to 24,309 and the broader S&P 500 Index was up nearly 15-points to 2,728 during the opening hour of trade. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index outperformed the broader markets and surged over 50-points to 7,555.
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