Three significant things happened today.  1) China reported a decrease in the number of new coronavirus cases; 2) China’s central bank announced stimulus to help stem the tide of economic regress caused by the virus; 3) Our central bank announced cautious optimism about interest rates.  The result: All three indexes jumped, the Dow by 115 points as investors breathe a sigh of relief believing the worst of the virus is behind us.  Apple, which took a beating yesterday recouped almost all of the losses and today there was not quite so much talk about the virus impacting the earnings of high-profile companies.  Volume remains a little below average at 7.2 billion. 

wed  FEBRUARY 19, 2020 / 4:37 pm 

S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record closing highs, lifted by China stimulus hopes

Caroline Valetkevitch

DJ:  29,232.19  -165.89       NAS:  9,732.74  +1.57          S&P:  3,370.29  -9.87        2/18

DJ:  29,348.03  +115.84       NAS:  9,817.18  +84.44       S&P:  3,386.15  +15.86     2/19

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose to record closing highs on Wednesday as optimism that China would take more measures to prop up its economy eased concerns about the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic.  Stocks held gains following the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting, which showed policymakers were cautiously optimistic about their ability to hold interest rates steady this year while acknowledging new risks caused by the virus outbreak.  The number of new coronavirus cases dropped for a second straight day in China.

China is widely expected to cut its benchmark lending interest rate on Thursday, which would add to measures aimed at limiting the impact from business shutdowns and travel curbs on the world’s second-largest economy.  “It sounds as though investors are breathing a sigh of relief that they believe the worst of the coronavirus is behind us,” said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Investment Management in Chicago.  “Investors are feeling emboldened because central banks have got their back,” he added.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) rose 1.4%, recouping most of the losses in the previous session after a surprise sales warning that highlighted concerns about the coronavirus’ impact on global supply chains.  The S&P 500 technology sector .SPLRCT also rose, ending up 1.1%. Among sectors, it was the second-biggest percentage gainer after energy .SPNY, which rose 1.3%.

Oil prices overall gained 2% on the back of slowing coronavirus cases.  “There seemed to be a number of high-profile companies that were talking about coronavirus and the potential for it to impact earnings. Today, investors are perhaps looking at markets with more thoughtfulness, recognizing (there’s) policy support and some good news coming from the infection rates,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco in New York.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 115.84 points, or 0.4%, to 29,348.03, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 15.86 points, or 0.47%, to 3,386.15 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 84.44 points, or 0.87%, to 9,817.18. 

Also helping the technology sector was a 6.1% gain in chipmaker Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) after Bernstein raised its shares to “outperform.”  Among other stocks, Garmin Ltd (GRMN.O) jumped 6.7% after the wearable fitness device maker forecast full-year revenue above analysts’ estimates. 

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.31-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.54-to-1 ratio favored advancers.  The S&P 500 posted 77 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 169 new highs and 57 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 7.22 billion shares, compared to the 7.57 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.