Stocks began the day in negative territory ahead of the beginning of the G-20 meeting in Argentina. Investors have been optimistic this week that the meeting can mark the beginning of a resolution in the U.S. trade fight with China. As the day progressed, the buyers emerged and pushed the markets to gains of roughly 0.8%. With the solid finish to the week, the S&P had its best week in seven years, while the Dow and Nasdaq also saw solid weekly gains.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Chicago PMI jumped 8 points to 66.4 in November. In China, the National Bureau of Statistics' manufacturing PMI eased further in November, falling 0.2 points to 50.0, hitting its lowest level since July 2016. Most importantly, the G-20 meeting in Buenos Aires kicked off and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was quoted as saying that he would be surprised if Saturday's dinner between President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping "wasn't a success." In addition, CNBC's Eamon Javers later reported that a senior official told him that Trump feels like he "has more time" to strike a pact with China. In energy news, Baker Hughes reported that the U.S. rig count is down 3 rigs from last week to 1,076.
COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Marriott (MAR) finished the day nearly 6% lower after the hotel giant announced that it has taken measures to investigate and address a data security incident involving the Starwood guest reservation database. The company said that for approximately 327M guests, the information from the breach included some combination of sensitive data such as name, mailing address, phone number, email address or passport number. Following the news, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood tweeted that she has opened an investigation into the breach.
On the earnings front, VMware (VMW) shares gained 3% after the company reported better than expected third quarter results and raised its earnings and revenue guidance for 2019.
HP Inc. (HPQ) also reported better than expected quarterly results and provided earnings guidance for the first quarter and fiscal 2019.
Meanwhile, Tesla (TSLA) shares rose almost 3% after Electrek reported that the car maker has reached its goal of manufacturing 1,000 Model 3 cars in a day and is now focusing on maintaining that rate and cutting costs.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was EQGP Holdings (EQGP), which gained 17.5% after it agreed to be acquired by Equitrans Midstream (ETRN) for $20 per unit in cash. Equitrans shares were 3% lower after the news. Also higher were Ambarella (AMBA) and Workday (WDAY), which gained a respective 18.5% and 13% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM), which fell 15% after it announced the departure of CEO Amin Maredia. Also lower was GameStop (GME), which declined 7% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow rose 199.62, or 0.79%, to 25,538.46, the Nasdaq gained 57.45, or 0.79%, to 7,330.54, and the S&P 500 advanced 22.40, or 0.82%, to 2,760.16.
Marriott
-6.75 (-5.54%)
Acquired by AVGO
+5.41 (+3.35%)
HP Inc.
+0.15 (+0.66%)
Tesla
+9.44 (+2.77%)
EQGP Holdings
+2.97 (+17.44%)
Equitrans Midstream
-0.73 (-3.17%)
Ambarella
+6.17 (+18.24%)
Workday
+18.45 (+12.68%)
Sprouts Farmers Market
-4 (-14.80%)
GameStop
-1.01 (-6.89%)