Dow, S&P Hit Records Despite Trade Concerns

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell largely met investor expectations for the first of two days of congressional testimony.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 per cent to finish the session at 27,784, lifted by soaring Disney shares.

The Walt Disney Co shot more than seven per cent higher, its biggest one-day gain since April, after reporting that its streaming service Disney+ had attracted 10 million subscribers on its first day.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 scraped by with a positive close, finishing essentially flat at 3,092, but achieving a new high close by less than two points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell less than 0.1 per cent to 8,482.

Markets quickly pared gains in mid-afternoon following a new report by The Wall Street Journal saying Chinese officials hesitated to agree formally to making gigantic purchases of American farm exports.

The two sides have already differed publicly on whether and when to remove tariffs imposed in their year-and-a-half-old trade war. (AFP)