NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks shrugged off two weak sessions and won solid gains on Wednesday on more upbeat sentiment ahead of key US-China trade talks.
Major indices had lost more than one per cent on Tuesday after new US sanctions on Chinese entities prompted a brusque response from Beijing, setting a harsh tone ahead of high-level trade talks due to begin Thursday.But stocks were in positive territory the entire day on Wednesday following reports that a pared-down agreement was still possible. The rally faded a bit near the end of the session following less upbeat headlines on the talks.The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 26.
showed US central bankers have become more anxious over a global slowdown even though the US outlook remains good for the moment.Among individual companies, Johnson & Johnson fell two per cent after a jury in Pennsylvania ruled the company should pay US$8 billion in punitive damages over the psychiatric drug Risperdal. The company said it would appeal.American Airlines jumped 3.1 per cent as it said a key benchmark on revenue rose to 2.5 per cent from 1.
American again pushed back the timeframe for resuming flights on the MAX, this time until Jan 15, 2020.