Stocks Ended Higher amid Renewed Trade Optimism

U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday, following a report that a phase-one trade U.S.-China trade deal was still in the works. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 146.97 points, or 0.53%, to 27,649.78. The S&P 500 was up 19.56 points, or 0.63%, to 3,112.76. The Nasdaq Composite gained 46.03 points, or 0.54%, to 8,566.67.

Oil futures rallied Wednesday, after U.S. government data showed the first decline in U.S. inventories in six weeks. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery rose $2.33, or 4.2%, to settle at $58.43 a barrel. February Brent crude added $2.18, or 3.6%, at $63 a barrel.

Alphabet (GOOG) co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are stepping down from their executive roles at the company and Google CEO Sundar Pichai is taking over as the CEO of Alphabet.

Slack (WORK) reported its fiscal Q3 2020 earnings after the bell on Wednesday beating expectations on both the top and bottom line. Slack reported third-quarter losses of $89.2 million, or 16 cents a share, on sales of $168.7 million, up from $105.7 million a year ago.