Markets Right Now: Stocks end mostly higher, though Dow dips

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local):

4:00 p.m.

Stocks are ending mostly higher Wednesday, although the Dow Jones industrials are posting a seventh straight loss due to weakness in McDonald’s and Travelers.

The Dow slid 42.41, or 0.2 per cent, to 24,657.80. It’s fallen 2.6 per cent during the losing streak.

The broader S&P 500 index gained 4.73 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2.767.32 and the Nasdaq composite rose 55.93, or 0.7 per cent, to 7,781.51, helped by solid gains in technology stocks. The Nasdaq set an all-time high.

Media companies jumped after Disney reached a sweetened deal to buy the entertainment business of Twenty-First Century Fox.

Starbucks plunged to its lowest level in a year and a half after saying its U.S. and China businesses have run into trouble during the current quarter.

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12:05 p.m.

U.S. stocks are mostly higher Wednesday as technology and media companies lead a recovery from the turbulent trading seen the day before.

The S&P 500 index is rising 8 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 2,771. The Nasdaq composite is up 65 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 7,790. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks is building on the record set Tuesday, up 11 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 1,705.

However, the Dow Jones industrial average could be heading for a seventh straight losing session. The Dow is down 12 points to 24,687.

Twenty-First Century Fox is jumping after it agreed to a new deal with Disney, which will buy Fox’s entertainment businesses for more than $70 billion. Other media companies are rallying as investors hope for more deals.

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9:35 a.m.

U.S. stock markets are opening higher Wednesday as investors set aside fears about a U.S. trade war with China for the moment.

The Dow Jones industrials are up 30 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 24,730, after falling 287 points Tuesday. The Dow has dropped for six straight days.

The S&P 500 index is up 8 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 2,771 and the Nasdaq composite is rising 45 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 7,770.

Global markets were shaken Tuesday as the U.S. and China escalated their trade dispute with fresh threats of tariffs, although U.S. stocks recovered most of their losses by the end of trading.

Markets in Asia and Europe recovered some of Tuesday’s losses. U.S. crude oil is up 1.3 per cent, after dropping 1.2 per cent a day earlier.

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