U.S. markets and stock exchange traded funds pressed forward toward new record levels, Friday, as healthy earnings and signs of a stabilizing Chinese economy helped lift equities.
On Friday, the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) was up 0.2%, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEArca: DIA) rose 0.1% and SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY) gained 0.2%.
China revealed industrial production recovered last year after a 6.9% growth in output in December, beating projections and revealing its fastest pace of expansion in nine months, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The improved economic data added to expectations about a rebounding economy after the United States and China signed a partial trade deal to end the protracted trade war that has weighed on growth.
“It’s a case of looking at it as a glass-half-full, rather than a glass-half-empty,” Geoffrey Yu, head of the U.K. office for UBS Group’s wealth management arm, told the WSJ. “There is a general sense that it could have been a lot worse.”
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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