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Stocks traded higher on Thursday as trade fears declined amid a lack of retaliatory tariffs by China to the latest round of charges by the U.S.
The Dow Jones Industrials bolted 193.78 points higher to 24,894.23, with Cisco Systems and Intel as the best-performing stocks in the index.
The S&P 500 spiked 18.01 points to 2,792.03, with tech and industrials outperforming
The NASDAQ rocketed 75.59 points, or 1%, to 7,792.20, as Facebook, Amazon, Alphabet and Apple all rose more than 1%.
Investors also shifted their focus toward earnings and data, taking a breather from trade war concerns. On the earnings front, Delta Air Lines reported better-than-expected quarterly results. Wall Street expects strong numbers from Corporate America, with experts forecasting 20% earnings growth for the second quarter.
Equities also rallied on dealmaking activity as Broadcom agreed to buy CA Technologies for $18.9 billion in cash. The deal values CA stock at about $44.50 per share, about 20% above the stocks close on Wednesday. CA shares surged nearly 20%, while Broadcom’s stock dropped more than 12%.
Comcast, meanwhile, increased its bid for British television group Sky to $34 billion, topping a $32.5-billion offer made by Twenty-First Century Fox.
Economically speaking, U.S. weekly jobless claims fell to 214,000 last week and the consumer price index rose at its fastest pace in six years.
Overseas, the Chinese commerce ministry said Thursday that China has not been in touch with the U.S. about restarting trade talks, but noted that China does not want a trade war. A spokesman for the ministry said, however, China does not fear a trade war.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury eased backward, raising yields to 2.85% from Wednesday 2.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices let go of 65 cents to $69.73 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $3.40 to $1,247.80 U.S. an ounce.
