Stocks rose on Thursday as investors remained hopeful that the U.S. and Mexico are getting closer to a resolution over immigration issues.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 217.24 points to end Thursday at 25,552.45
The S&P 500 gained 17.34 points to 2,843.49
The NASDAQ Composite regrouped 40.08 points to 7,615.55.
Thursday’s gains followed the Dow’s 500-point jump on Tuesday, its second-best session of 2019. The index’s subsequent 200-point climb on Wednesday and Thursday’s gains have pushed its week-to-date performance up more than 3.6%. The S&P 500 is 3.3%, and NASDAQ was boosted 2.2% this week.
The talks between U.S. and Mexican officials resumed Thursday afternoon after they failed to reach an agreement on Wednesday. Martha Barcena Coqui, Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S., told reporters on Thursday that negotiators had “a very good discussion”
Shares of companies with the most to lose from Mexico tariffs pared their losses on the new headlines. Shares of Ford, GM and Kansas City Southern took a noticeable jump, though the three still finished the day lower.
The market was lifted from a deep slump earlier this week when Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday the Fed will “act as appropriate to sustain the expansion, ” opening the door to rate cuts.
Traders are now pricing in a more than 90% chance of a September rate cut and about 60% probability of three rate cuts this year,
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising yields to 2.13% from Wednesday’s 2.12%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices chugged ahead $1.50 to $53.18 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $4.30 at $1,337.90 U.S. an ounce.
Stocks Hike as Tariffs May be Delayed