US STOCKS-Dow closes above 29,000 after China and U.S. sign trade truce

* Target shares slump as holiday sales miss
* UnitedHealth rises after backing full-year forecast
* Indexes: Dow +0.31%, S&P 500 +0.19%, Nasdaq +0.08%

(Updates with close)
By Noel Randewich
Jan 15 (Reuters) - The Dow ended above 29,000 for the first
time on Wednesday and the S&P 500 also closed at a record high
after the United States and China signed a Phase 1 trade
agreement and pledged to resolve a tariff dispute that has
roiled Wall Street for over a year.
The centerpiece of the truce is a pledge by China to
purchase at least an additional $200 billion worth of U.S. farm
products and other goods and services over two years, over a
baseline of $186 billion in purchases in 2017.
The trade agreement clears the way for investors to focus on
upcoming quarterly earnings reports, including the outlooks
companies provide in light of the deal.
“There's no question from a psychological viewpoint it's a
big relief for the market," said Peter Cardillo, chief market
economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. "There are
still CEOs that are dubious, but this might help capital
investments, and that was the biggest missing link to the
economy over the last few years.”
Trump said he would remove all U.S. tariffs on Chinese
imports as soon as the two countries complete the Phase 2 trade
agreement, on which negotiations will start soon.
“I am sure as people dissect (the agreement), there is going
to be criticism of it - it's not doing enough, or it's not doing
this, or whatever. But the market, had it not gotten signed ...
would have reacted negatively,” said Chuck Carlson, chief
executive of Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana.
The three main stock indexes gave up earlier intraday record
highs, with disappointing earnings reports from Bank of America
pushing the S&P financial index .SPSY down 0.55%.
Bank of America Corp BAC.N reported a better-than-expected
quarterly profit, but warned of weak net interest income in the
first half of 2020, knocking its shares down 1.8%.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS.N slipped 0.2% after reporting
a bigger-than-expected fall in profit as it set aside more money
to cover legal costs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.31% to
29,030.22 points, ending above 29,000 for the first time.
The S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.19% to 3,289.3, its highest ever
close.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.08% to 9,258.70, just
short of its record high close set on Monday.
UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH.N , the largest U.S. health
insurer, rose 2.8% as it affirmed its full-year outlook for 2020
adjusted earnings. The S&P healthcare index .SPXHC climbed
1.0%.
Retailer Target Corp TGT.N slumped 6.6% after it missed
its own expectations for 2019 holiday season sales after
reporting a drop in online growth and demand for toys and
electronics. Toymakers Mattel Inc MAT.O and Hasbro Inc HAS.O fell
4.6% and 2.1%, respectively, while electronics seller Best Buy
BBY.N dropped 1.7%.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
a 1.35-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.31-to-1 ratio favored
advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 74 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 151 new highs and 20 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 7.3 billion shares, compared
with an average of 7.0 billion shares over the last 20 trading
days.