Stocks Surged at Open on Trump Trade Tweet

U.S. stocks surged at open on Thursday, after President Donald Trump said the U.S. and China were closing in on a trade deal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately jumped 142.73 points, or 0.51%, to 28,054.03. The S&P 500 rose 14.31 points, or 0.4%, to 3,155.94. The Nasdaq Composite gained 35.35 points, or 0.41%, to 8,689.40.

Oil futures headed slightly higher Thursday as investors shook off bearish inventory reports and focused on central banks that have signaled a willingness to keep interest rates low. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery picked up 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $58.94 a barrel. February Brent crude gained 32 cents, or 0.5%, to reach $64.04 a barrel.

Trump in a Twitter post said the U.S. and China were “Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China. They want it, and so do we!” The upbeat rhetoric comes just days before a December 15 de facto deadline, on which date tariffs on about $156 billion worth of Chinese imports are set to take effect.

The ECB on Thursday decided to keep its main refinancing rate and deposit facility rate unchanged at 0% and -0.5%, respectively. It also kept its marginal lending facility rate steady at 0.25%.