Stocks opened with strong gains following the trade truce announced between the U.S. and China and then moved in a narrow range for the majority of what was a quiet session to kick off the holiday-shortened week. While a trade ceasefire was largely the expected outcome of the G20 meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi, the inclusion of a Huawei reprieve was a surprise that helped give an added boost to a number of tech stocks and to the Nasdaq. Meanwhile, oil prices rose alongside stocks on news that OPEC delegates have agreed to a 9-month extension of the cooperative's oil-output cuts.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., Markit's manufacturing PMI inched up to 50.6 in June, up from 50.5 in May and from the 50.1 preliminary June reading. The ISM manufacturing index dipped 0.4 points to 51.7 in June, which was a little weaker than analysts had forecast. Construction spending slid 0.8% in May after a revised 0.4% gain in April.
TOP NEWS: Apple (AAPL), along with a number of semiconductor chip makers and other high-tech components suppliers - including Qorvo (QRVO), Skyworks (SWKS), II-VI (IIVI), Lumentum (LITE), Micron (MU), Western Digital (WDC), IPG Photonics (IPGP), Coherent (COHR), nLight (LASR) and Acacia Communications (ACIA) - advanced following this weekend's trade truce agreement between the U.S. and China. Additionally, President Donald Trump said he would allow U.S. companies to continue to sell to Huawei.
In M&A news, Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP), GIC and Brookfield Infrastructure's institutional partners announced an agreement to acquire Genesee & Wyoming (GWR) in a transaction valued at approximately $8.4B, including debt, or $112 per share in cash. Additionally, Performance Food Group (PFGC) announced an agreement to acquire rival Reinhart Foodservice from Reyes Holdings in a transaction valued at $2B, or approximately $1.7B net of an estimated tax benefit to PFG of approximately $265M.
Meanwhile, WPP (WPP) shares were 2% higher in New York after the company announced the sale of a minority stake in Chime Group to Providence for GBP54.4M. The advertising giant also confirmed that it is in exclusive talks with Bain Capital for the sale of a majority of Kantar.
Additionally, Deutsche Bank (DB) was in focus after Bloomberg reported that the bank is weighing reducing its capital buffer as a way to help finance its impending restructuring.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Wynn Resorts (WYNN), which rose 5.9% after Macau's gaming bureau reported June gross revenue from games of fortune in the region increased 5.9% year-over-year. Also higher was JinkoSolar (JKS), which gained 3.4% after it announced the commissioning of a solar project in Abu Dhabi.
Among the notable losers was Coty (COTY), which slid 13.5% after the company announced a "turnaround plan," saying it expects a moderating decline in revenues in fiscal 2020. Also lower was MSG Networks (MSGN), which fell 1.7% after the New York Knicks failed to sign marquee NBA stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at the start of free agency yesterday, as both players opted to sign with the Brooklyn Nets instead.
INDEXES: The Dow rose 117.47, or 0.44%, to 26,717.43, the Nasdaq gained 84.92, or 1.06%, to 8,091.16, and the S&P 500 advanced 22.58, or 0.77%, to 2,964.34.
