Tuesday’s Stock Market Close: US Equities Driven Higher By Tech Stocks, Nasdaq Sets Closing High

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as tech names like Apple (AAPL) drove the Nasdaq to a new record closing high. Earlier in the session traders were relieved after White House officials clarified comments about the existence of the U.S.-China trade deal following some confusion.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 131.14 points to 26,156.10, while the S&P 500 rose 13.43 points to 3,131.29 and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 74.89 points to 10,131.37.

Tuesday’s volume on the New York Stock Exchange totaled 3.88 billion shares with 1,747 issues advancing, 62 setting new highs, and 1,231 declining, with three stocks setting new lows .

Active movers were led by American Airlines (AAL), Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (INO) and Genius Brands International Inc. (GNUS).

Apple jumped 2.13% one day after it introduced new operating systems for its iPhones and computers. Apple also said it will use its own chips in new Mac computers, rather than Intel (INTC).

UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri said that for Apple moving away from Intel chips is a “continuation of its strategy of vertical integration following years of convergence” in its mobile and Mac products.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that new home sales jumped 16.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000 units last month.

Earlier there was confusion over comments made by White House trade advisor Peter Navarro over the status of the U.S.-China trade deal. In an interview on Fox News on Monday, Navarro suggested the deal was “over.” In a subsequent statement, Navarro clarified that his words were misconstrued and that the China deal remains in place.

“I was simply speaking to the lack of trust we now have of the Chinese Communist Party after they lied about the origins of the China virus and foisted a pandemic upon the world,” he stated.

President Donald Trump also tweeted to confirm the existing trade deal with China.

Clete Willems, a former top White House trade negotiator, also asserted the trade deal will be implemented.

“From an election standpoint, this deal remains a winner for [Trump] because he was able to get China to make certain commitments that others have failed to do and the U.S. really didn’t … give up much in exchange,” Willems said. “They kept almost all of the tariffs in place. So, it still allows the president to say he’s tough and he got a deal.”

The purchasing managers’ index in June for the euro zone from IHS Markit showed the “downturn eased markedly for a second successive month in June.”

The flash eurozone PMI came in at 47.5, up from 31.9 in May.

“The flash eurozone PMI indicated another substantial easing of the region’s downturn in June,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit. “Output and demand are still falling but no longer collapsing. While second quarter GDP is still likely to have dropped at an unprecedented rate, the rise in the PMI adds to expectations that the lifting of lockdown restrictions will help bring the downturn to an end as we head into the summer.”

Meanwhile, confirmed cases of covid-19 continue to climb in the U.S. and overseas.

“It feels in some ways the markets have a case of revenge spending,” said Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners. “It feels like people have been cooped up and they’re buying everything they can. There’s a positive bias here, and investors are just running with it.”

Overnight in Asia, markets finished higher. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.18%; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.62%; while Japan’s Nikkei-225 gained 0.5%.

In Europe markets finished higher, as Britain’s FTSE-100 rose 1.21%, while France’s CAC-40 climbed 1.39% and Germany’s DAX jumped 2.13%.

Crude oil futures dropped 1.23% at $40.23 per barrel, Brent crude slipped 0.3% at $42.60. Gold futures rose 1.03%.

The euro rose 0.37% at $1.1304 while the pound sterling gained 0.38% at $1.2518.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose 0.71% to 0.709% while yield on the 30-year Treasury gained 1.92% to 1.489%.