U.S. Stocks Hit Highs as Oil Jumps; Yen Rises on Tsunami Warning.

U.S. Stocks Hit Highs as Oil Jumps; Yen Rises on Tsunami Warning

All four major U.S. equity benchmarks climbed to record highs as oil jumped on optimism OPEC will agree to cut output. The yen rose as markets digested reports of a tsunami warning in the Fukushima region.

The S&P 500 Index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite Index and the Russell 2000 Index rallied together to their all-time peaks for the first time since 1999. Oil surged as Iran signaled optimism that OPEC will agree to a supply-cut deal and Iraq said it will offer new proposals to help bolster unity before next week’s meeting in Vienna. The dollar halted its longest advance ever against the euro. The yen climbed after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Japan off the coast of Fukushima, home to the nuclear power plant badly damaged in a March 2011 quake, triggering a tsunami alert.

American stocks achieved the new milestone as companies ended a five-quarter profit slump and Donald Trump’s election fueled optimism that his plans to cut taxes and boost fiscal spending will benefit industries more geared toward economic growth. Acknowledging the strength in the economy, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Thursday that the central bank is close to lifting interest rates.

“There’s optimism that it’s more likely that Trump is going to put us on an economic fast track versus Clinton,” said Terry Morris, manager director of equities at BB&T Institutional Investment Advisors in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. “The election had something to do with this, and I also think there’s some short covering going on. People that were hedging the election had to rush to cover after the news, and I think generally the perception is the economy is starting to pick up as the Fed is likely to raise rates in December.”

Traders are now pricing in a 100 percent chance of a move next month, compared with a 68 percent probability in the beginning of November. If the Fed doesn’t act as expected, it may bring on more market turmoil, says Seven Investment Management’s Ben Kumar.

Stocks

The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent to 2,198.18 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Average and the Nasdaq advanced more than 0.4 percent. The Russell 2000 of smaller companies rose for a 12th day in its longest rally since 2003.

“It’s a push on the upper end of the equity markets due to this renewed belief that there’s tax cuts and stimulus spending coming in 2017 and 2018,” said Chad Morganlander, a money manager at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. in Florham Park, New Jersey, where he helps oversee about $172 billion. “The overall equity markets are taking a cue from that and they are trading on the belief that earnings will move higher as well as revenues in 2017.”

Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Murphy Oil Corp. paced gains in energy shares. Tyson Foods Inc. tumbled after posting earnings that missed estimates and appointing Tom Hayes to succeed Donnie Smith as chief executive officer.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.3 percent, reversing a slide of as much as 0.8 percent. Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Glencore Plc climbed more than 2 percent as commodities advanced. That marks a 10th day of the gauge alternating between intraday advances and losses, its longest streak since May 2013.

Source Bloomberg