Wall Street's main stock indexes closed at record levels on Friday, fueled by fresh optimism over a potential calming of U.S.-China trade tensions and by big gains in shares of healthcare companies.
The strength of the U.S. consumer has been often cited as a pillar of the economy and one of the reasons the S&P 500 has recently scaled new heights, but consumer discretionary stocks have skipped the party for several months.
Crude prices rose and global equities markets rallied on Friday, with the major U.S. indexes setting record highs, on renewed optimism the United States and China are nearing a deal to de-escalate a 16-month trade war that has crimped global growth.
An Oklahoma judge on Friday said Johnson & Johnson must pay that state $465 million for fueling the opioid epidemic through the deceptive marketing of painkillers, down from his original award of $572 million.
U.S. Federal Aviation Administrator Steve Dickson told his team to "take whatever time is needed" in their review of Boeing Co's 737 MAX, reiterating that the path to approval is "not guided by a calendar or schedule," according to a Nov. 14 memo and video message reviewed by Reuters.
