U.S. stocks have really turned around from the market lows of last week, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and the Nasdaq all closing at records highs on Thursday. For stocks, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) all reached new share price records.
Meanwhile, the IHS Markit predicted that the new coronavirus outbreak will be worse for the global economy than the comparable 2003 SARS outbreak. The prediction is due to a few factors: the SARS outbreak costed the global economy $40 billion, but that was when China was just the sixth-largest economy in the world. Now as the second largest economy, China's growing isolation and halting of business will affect 16.3% of the world's GDP.
China's Ministry of Finance issued a statement today reading that the country will half tariffs on about $75 billion worth of U.S. import on February 14. On that day, the U.S. is also due to lower tariffs on Chinese imports as part of the initial trade deal.
Here's how the market close after regular trading on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.33% or +11.09 points to 3,345.78
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.30% or +89.19 points to 29,380.04
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.67% or +63.47 points to 9,572.15
In Major Stock News, Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) shares gained over 15% after the social media giant reported fourth quarter earnings that showed a record number of monetizable daily active users. Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) shares dropped more than 9% after the company reported greater losses and slowing of revenue growth in the second quarter. Boeing (NYSE: BA) share increased more than 3% Thursday after the Federal Aviation Administration said that a software audit of the company's 737 MAX model showed a wiring issue. Casper Sleep (NYSE: CSPR) shares skyrocketed as the online mattress retailer debuted on the New York Stock Exchange.
In Stock Sector News, sectors ended Thursday mixed, although gains and losses were minimal. Those that saw performance gains include Communication Services +1.14%, Information Technology +0.88%, Real Estate +0.40%, Consumer Staples +0.33%, Industrials +0.31% and Health Care +0.11%. The rest that had performance losses include Energy -1.04%, Financials -0.17%, Consumer Discretionary -0.16%, Materials -0.08% and Utilities -0.03%.
Lastly, in Commodity and Currency News, crude oil barrel prices slipped again, maintaining levels above $50. West Texas Intermediate (NYSE: USO) dropped almost -0.20% and Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) fell over -0.80%. Gold (NYSE: GLD), on the other hand, rose +0.70%. Finally, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) increase +0.22% on the DXY Index.