US stocks rise to fresh records on trade deal optimism

US stocks opened on Thursday higher, to reach new record highs amid the widespread optimism in global markets following the easing of the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing and strong economic data.

President Donald Trump and the Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed yesterday the phase-one trade deal, marking an end to the 18-month old trade war.

Data showed today that the US retail sales index reading rose by 0.3% in December, and the initial unemployment claims fell by 10K to 204K.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose by 0.5% or 150 points to 29,180 as of 15:21 GMT, Nasdaq added 0.7% or 65 points to 9,324 points, and S&P 500 rose by 0.5% or 18 points to 3,307 points.