Wall Street close: US benchmarks make fresh record highs

• The Nasdaq Composite index added around 98 points, or 1.1% to close at 9,357.
• S&P 500 index added 28 points, or 0.8% to close the session at roughly 3,317.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 267 points, or 0.9%, to close around 29,298.

US benchmarks eeked out solid gains again (all three benchmarks finished at all-time highs) following good news on the trade and US data front. On Wednesday, President Trump signed the first phase of a U.S.-China trade pact and on Thursday, the Senate passed the U.S. Mexico and Canada deal for Trump's signing.

Subsequently, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 267 points, or 0.9%, to close around 29,298 while the S&P 500 index added 28 points, or 0.8% to close the session at roughly 3,317. The Nasdaq Composite index added around 98 points, or 1.1% to close at 9,357.

US data impresses

Analysts at Westpac broke down the positive US data:

• US Dec retail sales rose 0.3%m/m (control group rose 0.5%m/m, est. 0.4%m/m) and solid consumer activity into year-end was affirmed by US National Retail Federation citing a +4.1% lift over the 2018 holiday period and especially strong online sales (+14.6%).

• US Jan Philly Fed index at 17.0 soundly beat expectations (est. 3.7, prior 2.4) to retest mid-2019 highs and showed solid gains in employment and new orders components. The Jan NAHB housing index at 75 (est. 74) remained close to last month’s multi-year high of 76.

DJIA levels