Nasdaq Tops 8K as Stocks Celebrate U.S.-Mexico Trade Deal

The Dow rallied triple digits, while the S&P also hit a record high

Emma Duncan

Managing Editor

Aug 27, 2018 at 4:27 PM

The Dow soared more than 250 points in today's trading, closing above the 26,000 mark for the first time since the February correction, after President Donald Trump announced a U.S.-Mexico trade deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Plus, both the tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P touched another round of record highs, with the former topping 8,000 on notable gains from FAANG stocks, including Netflix (NFLX).

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

The chip stock set for its best month in years.
The tech name sounding a major buy signal.
History says don't buy this pizza stock's bounce.
Plus, the weed stock with exploding options; 2 auto stocks blitzed by bulls; and Musk sends Tesla stock reeling.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 26,049.64) picked up 259.3 points, or 1%. Goldman Sachs (GS) led the 26 advancing blue chips with a 3.2% gain, while Pfizer (PFE) paced the four decliners with a 1.9% dip.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,896.74) gained 22.1 points, or 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 8,017.90) saw a gain of 71.9 points, or 0.9%. Both indexes touched record highs of 2,898.25, and 8,024.93, respectively.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 12.16) scraped by with a 0.2 point, or 1.4% gain.

us closing indexes summary aug 27

nyse and nasdaq stats aug 27

5 Items on our Radar Today

Technology giant VMware (VMW) announced plans to buy cloud computing firm CloudHealth for a reported $500 million. VMware said the aim of the buyout is to push further into the cloud-services management realm. (Reuters)
A Seattle judge denied the Trump administration the ability to allow Texas-based Defense Distributed to post 3D-printable gun plans online. More than 19 U.S. states sued to stop the agreement, with the judge saying "It is the untraceable and undetectable nature of these small firearms that poses a unique danger." (Associated Press)
Options exploded on this weed stock ahead of earnings.
2 auto stocks blitzed by options bulls after the Mexico trade deal.
Tesla stock plunged after Musk abandoned a plan to go private.

There were no earnings of note today.

unusual options volume aug 27

Data courtesy of Trade-Alert

Weaker Dollar Boosts Gold

Oil prices ended modestly higher, amid reports that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC members are curbing crude output, as expected. October-dated crude picked up 15 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $68.87 per barrel.

The U.S.-Mexico trade deal pushed the greenback lower, sending dollar-denominated gold futures higher for the day. December-dated gold picked up $2.70, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,216 per ounce.

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