(Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes hit record highs on Thursday, with the S&P 500 crossing the 3,300 mark for the first time, as upbeat earnings from Morgan Stanley and a tech rally added to optimism from an initial U.S.-China trade deal.
Morgan Stanley’s (MS.N) shares jumped 5.6% after the Wall Street bank beat fourth-quarter profit estimates and raised its performance goals, wrapping up earnings of big U.S. lenders on a strong note.
Technology stocks .SPLRCT provided the biggest boost, with Apple Inc (AAPL.O) up more than 1% and chipmakers gaining after a strong forecast from the world’s top contract chipmaker TSMC (2330.TW) (TSM.N) signaled a recovery in the sector.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX climbed 1.3%.
Global stock markets scaled new highs after Washington and Beijing on Wednesday signed a deal that paused an 18-month long tariff war that had bruised financial markets and crimped global growth.
China is expected to boost purchases of U.S. goods and services in exchange for the rolling back of some tariffs as part of the deal, but concerns remain with several thorny issues still unresolved.
“The Phase 1 trade deal has been largely priced into markets,” said Peter Kenny, founder of Strategic Board Solutions LLC.
“Any movement forward from here, at least in the near-term, is going to be driven by earnings. So far, we do see a sort of a positive tone set by the financials.”
Analysts expect earnings at S&P 500 companies to have dropped 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to Refinitiv IBES data, the second consecutive decline.
At 9:53 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 0.49% at 29,173.11. The S&P 500 .SPX rose 0.46% to
