U.S. markets have pushed to record levels this week after the two largest economies in the world signed in the Phase 1 trade deal. Additionally, strong corporate earnings from Wall Street banks revealed steady growth at home.
“Just the general calm down about tariffs has been a big driver,” JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, told the WSJ.
Further adding to the positive sentiment on Friday, U.S. homebuilding surged to a 13-year high in December, which suggested that the housing market recovery was benefiting from the low mortgage rates, Reuters reports.
“Housing reports have come out quite positive, the job growth continues to be healthy and all the worries we had about a recession seem to have passed,” Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network, told Reuters. “That being the case, the only worry is earnings, but they seem to be coming out quite well so far.”
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