Whether you’re a fund manager or the president of the United States, a December stock rally is a wonderful thing. Many money managers have incentives tied to “locking in gains” before the end of the year, and of course President Trump wants all the bragging rights he can get.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.13% rose 288 points (1.1%) on Monday, while the S&P 500 SPX, +1.09% also added 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +1.51% was up 1.5% after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to get serious about trade negotiations. Following a dinner Saturday night in Buenos Aires during the G-20 gathering, the U.S. agreed not to impose 25% tariffs on $200 billion in annual imports from China in January. This opens a 90-day window for a trade agreement.
Trump also said China had agreed to “reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from the U.S.”
Stocks were also helped by a 4.2% increase in West Texas Intermediate crude CLF9, +0.76% following an agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to cut production.
