Wall Street rose modestly in relatively light trading on Monday as revelers gathered to ring in 2019, marking it the end of the worst year for major US indexes since 2008.
US stock indexes rose on Monday driven by signs of progress in trade talks between the United States and China, which Wall Street could end its worst year in a decade on an optimistic note.
US President Donald Trump said he had “a very good conversation” with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday to discuss trade and that there was “a breakthrough”.
“The progress mentioned by Trump in the trade negotiations and the continuation of last week’s rally are improving the mood of the investors,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, in a note to clients.
S & P’s industrial sector, which is very sensitive to trade, gained 0.87 percent, driven by gains from Caterpillar Inc and Boeing Co.
The technology sector, in which there are companies with strong exposure in China, gained 0.72 percent.
At 1609 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 158.25 points, or 0.69 percent, at 23,219.63 points, while the S & P 500 was up 7.2 points, or 0.29 percent, at 2,492.94 units.
The Nasdaq gained 11,761 points, or 0.18 percent, at 6,596,283 units.
Still, the S & P 500 index has lost more than 9 percent so far in December, its biggest monthly decline since February 2009 and its worst December since the Great Depression.
The S & P and the Dow Jones have fallen around 6 percent this year, both cutting two years of winning streaks with their biggest annual decline since the 2008 financial crisis.
