Dow closes more than 160 points higher as stock-market investors shake off politics in favor of trade optimism
U.S. stocks closed solidly higher Wednesday as gains in communication-services and information-technology shares helped to power a rebound for a market that has been weighing the implications of an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 163 points, or 0.6%, at 26,971, propelled higher by shares of Nike Inc. . The S&P 500 index gained 0.6% to 2,985, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.1% to 8,077, recovering the majority of its losses from the previous session. Trump told reporters that a deal with Beijing could happen "sooner than you think," according to news reports. Markets have been wrestling with U.S. political drama after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi late Tuesday announced an impeachment inquiry into Trumps interactions with his Ukrainian counterpart. On Wednesday, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wasn't pushed to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter. A summary of the Zelensky/Trump conversation was released by the White House earlier in the session. The recap indicated that Trump asked Zelensky to "look into" former vice president Biden, but the 25-minute call didn't mention military aid to the country.
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