Global Markets Up On Trade Optimism, US Stocks End At Records

China and the US have both sounded positive notes on progress of the trade talks, providing support to global markets AFP / Johannes EISELE

Global stocks mostly rose Wednesday, with Wall Street again notching new records, as investors stayed upbeat that China and the United States would soon reach an interim trade deal.

Major US indices ended at records for the third straight day following better-than-expected reports on economic growth and durable goods orders.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the latest reports "feed into the notion that the US economy is not on the cusp of a recession."

But a Federal Reserve survey showed businesses, farmers and bankers nationwide remained concerned about the impact of tariffs and trade conflict.

After more than a year of being lurched up and down by shifting trade headlines, most analysts still expect a deal soon, but concede there is lingering uncertainty.

"Trade optimism has lifted stocks," CMC Markets analyst David Madden. "Equity markets are posting gains, but the upside moves are not massive as dealers are mindful that things still could fall apart."

For Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, "the sudden daily obsession with the trade war probably has a lot to do with the fact that there's very little else to talk about at the moment, which doesn't bode well for the rest of the year.

"The trade war has taken the place of the Fed in being what investors are hanging their hat on," Erlam added.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent, but volumes were low in the final full day of trading before the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.

US markets will reopen Friday with a half-day of trading.

Hong Kong rose 0.2 percent, with e-commerce titan Alibaba piling on more than three percent a day after its market debut that saw it gain more than six percent.

Tokyo ended 0.3 percent higher and Sydney jumped 0.9 percent.

However, Shanghai fell 0.1 percent after data showed that industrial company profits tumbled by 10 percent in October on an annual basis, highlighting continued problems in the world's number two economy.

The pound meanwhile diverged as opinion polls showed the main opposition Labour party closing the gap on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives just over two weeks before the general election.

Sterling has been given a lift in recent weeks by expectations Johnson would win a workable parliamentary majority that would allow him to push through his Brexit plan.

Among individual companies, Boeing fell 1.5 percent after its 777X suffered significant problems during testing overseen by US aviation inspectors, raising new questions about a key aircraft under development.

Boeing remains under scrutiny over the 737 MAX, which remains grounded after two fatal crashes.

New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 28,164.00 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 3,153.63 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.7 percent at 8,705.18 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,429.78 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.4 percent at 13,287.07 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,926.84 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 3,712.85 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 23,437.77 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.2 percent at 26,954.00 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,903.19 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0999 from $1.1021