Stocks Rise as Trump Signs Tariffs, But Trade Fears Ease

NEW YORK (AP) —

After hours of indecisive trading, stocks finished with modest gains Thursday after President Donald Trump formally ordered tariffs on steel and aluminum imports with terms that were less harsh than investors had feared.

Stocks rallied following reports that Canada and Mexico will be exempted indefinitely from the tariffs and that other countries will be invited to negotiate for exemptions as well.

Health care companies rose after pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts accepted a $52 billion offer from health insurer Cigna. Technology companies also moved higher, but energy companies slipped along with oil prices.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 12.17 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,738.97. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 93.85 points, or 0.4 percent, to 24,895.21. The Nasdaq composite rose for the fifth day in a row, gaining 31.30 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,427.95.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks dipped 2.57 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,571.97. The index had jumped 4.5 percent over the previous four days as discussion about the proposed tariffs prompted investors to buy U.S.-focused companies and sell multinational firms.

Friday could prove to be another dramatic day on Wall Street as investors review the government’s February jobs report. Stocks tumbled after the January report showed unexpectedly strong growth in wages, which set off worries about inflation.

The insurer Cigna will spend about $52 billion to acquire the nation’s biggest pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts, the latest in a string of proposed deals as health care’s bill payers attempt to get a grip on rising costs. Express Scripts jumped $6.30, or 8.6 percent, to $79.72 while Cigna lost $22.25, or 11.5 percent, to $172.

Grocery store Kroger posted a bigger fourth-quarter profit and said its digital sales almost doubled in the past year, but its profit forecast for the current year disappointed investors. Kroger expects to earn between $1.95 and $2.15 a share for the year, while FactSet says analysts expected a profit of $2.15 per share on average. The stock fell $3.25, or 12.4 percent, to $22.98.

Newspaper publisher Tronc plunged $4.77, or 24.1 percent, to $15.05 after its quarterly profit fell far short of Wall Street’s forecasts.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.03, or 1.7 percent, to $60.12 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 73 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $63.61 a barrel in London. That led to more losses for energy companies.

Bond prices edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note declined to 2.85 percent from 2.88 percent. Banks traded lower, because lower yields mean they can’t make as much money from lending.

The CAC 40 in France added 1.3 percent and the DAX in Germany rose 0.9 percent. In Britain the FTSE 100 gained 0.6 percent. That came after the European Central Bank hinted that it is closer to exiting its extraordinary monetary stimulus effort.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.5 percent while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1 percent higher. The South Korean Kospi gained 1.3 percent.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline declined 4 cents to $1.87 a gallon. Heating oil dipped 2 cents to $1.86 a gallon. Natural gas slid 2 cents to $2.76 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold lost $5.90 to $1,321.70 an ounce. Silver added 1 cent to $16.50 an ounce. Copper fell 6 cents to $3.08 a pound.

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