Stocks rally ahead of Facebook earnings

Traders
celebrate after the closing bell on the floor of the New York
Stock Exchange, (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 6,
2018.
Brendan
McDermid/Reuters

Stocks rose Wednesday, with Facebook hitting an all-time high, as
trade worries took a backseat to a batch of
stronger-than-expected earnings. Stocks jumped in the final hour
of trading following reports of a trade deal between the US and
the European Union. The dollar
and Treasury yields fell. 

Here’s the scoreboard:

Dow Jones industrial
average:
 25,414.98 +173.04
(+0.69%)

S&P
500:
 2,840.32 +19.92
(+0.71%)

1. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
   
   reportedly agreed to certain trade concessions in an Oval
   Office meeting with President Donald Trump. The
   president has previously appeared intent on ramping up
   protectionist measures on the EU. While Juncker was en route to
   Washington on Tuesday, Trump tweeted that tariffs
   “are the greatest.”
2. The European Union earlier announced it was preparing
   
   retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of US
   products. EU officials had warned the duties
   would be enacted if President Donald Trump follows through with
   the 25% tariff on car imports to the US he has threatened.
3. New homes sales in the US
   dropped to an eight-month low in June. Sales
   of new single-family units fell 5.3% last month, the Commerce
   Department said, a drop more than double the size that
   economists had forecast. 
4. US crude inventories
   fell to the lowest point since February
   2015. The 6.15 million barrel drawdown, reported
   by the Energy Information Administration, was larger than
   expected. Prices of
   West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, jumped more than
   $1 to $69.25 a barrel following the EIA report.
5. Earnings season rolls on. Coca-Cola and
   UPS
   posted stronger-than-expected numbers for the second
   quarter. Boeing fell
   short of analyst expectations and disappointed on guidance.
   General
   Motors topped Wall Street estimates but cut its profit
   forecast amid tariff concerns. 

And a look at the upcoming economic calendar:

• Facebook posts earnings after the bell; Amazon and Twitter
  report later this week.
• The European Central Bank holds a policy meeting.
• Factory order numbers are out in the US.

See also:

Goldman Sachs breaks down the
damage a trade war could cause in the stock market and 2 ways
investors can protect themselves