* Nike falls as North America revenue disappoints
* Carnival Corp gains
* Consumer spending rose 0.4% last month
* Indexes up: Dow 0.4%, S&P 0.5%, Nasdaq 0.4%
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 hit a record high
for a seventh straight session on Friday, as continued optimism
on resolving the U.S.-China trade war and strength in domestic
consumer spending lifted sentiment.
President Donald Trump claimed progress on issues from trade
to North Korea and Hong Kong after speaking with Chinese
President Xi Jinping, dispelling fears of another escalation in
the trade dispute. "This time of year tends to be a tailwind for the market,"
said Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital
Associates in Greenwood, South Carolina, who helps manage about
$950 million. "There's nothing obvious between now and the end
of the year that would change the direction we're headed. So
it's kind of a melt-up."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 121.6 points,
or 0.43%, to 28,498.56, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 16.33 points,
or 0.51%, to 3,221.7 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
36.41 points, or 0.41%, to 8,923.63.
Consumer spending, a key to U.S. economic growth and a major
focus for investors, rose 0.4% in November, adding to a string
of upbeat data that have helped put behind recession fears,
which dogged markets earlier this year.
Nike Inc NKE.N was down 1% after the world's largest
sportswear maker reported lower-than-expected growth in revenue
from North America. Cruise operators were the top percentage gainers on the S&P
500, led by Carnival Corp CCL.N which rose 7.1% after
forecasting a 2020 profit largely above estimates. U.S. Steel Corp X.N tumbled 11.1% after the company said
it expects a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss.
Volume on U.S. exchanges so far was 4.80 billion shares.
"Quadruple witching," in which investors unwind positions in
futures and options contracts before their expiration, may be
helping to boost volume, Todd said.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.60-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.19-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 73 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 155 new highs and 31 new lows.
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