S&P 500, Nasdaq Surge to Record Highs, DOW Up 250+ as US and Mexico Strike Trade Deal

ANOTHER WIN FOR PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP AND AMERICA …

The Trump administration and Mexico have negotiated a new trade deal to replace NAFTA and the markets are gaining in a huge way. Candidate Trump promised during the 2016 presidential campaign that he would end NAFTA and replace it with a better deal for America and American workers. He has done it! And the markets loved it and surged on the news. The S&P 500 gained 0.8% to close at 2,896.74, a record high. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9% to an all-time high, breaking above 8,000 points for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 259.29 points to 26,049.64.

Stocks jumped on Monday as the United States and Mexico closed a new trade deal, potentially removing a source of uncertainty that had been plaguing investors for months.

The S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent to close at 2,896.74 — a record high — with materials and financials as the best-performing sectors. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9 percent to an all-time high, breaking above 8,000 points for the first time, as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet rose. Tech’s gains led the Nasdaq to close at 8,017.90.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 259.29 points to 26,049.64 as Caterpillar outperformed. Monday also marked the first time since Feb. 1 that the Dow closed above 26,000.

“The market has been buffeted with a lot of headwinds lately, and the biggest one is trade,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR. “If you were to take trade out of the picture, you would have a smoother ride higher in this market.”

President Donald Trump said the deal would be called The United States-Mexico Trade agreement, leaving behind the 24-year-old NAFTA name. “The name NAFTA has a bad connotation because the United States was hurt very badly by NAFTA,” he said. Trump added that the deal with Mexico is also very helpful for farmers and manufacturers. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the deal must be approved by Congress before being implemented.