US STOCKS-Wall St hits fresh record as Mnuchin says trade pact to be signed in January

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* Weekly jobless claims fall from over two-year high
* Conagra eyes best day in over 30 years
* Micron up 3.5% after signaling 2020 recovery
* Indexes up: Dow 0.4%, %S&P 0.3%, Nasdaq 0.5%

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By Uday Sampath Kumar
Dec 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street hit fresh all-time highs on
Thursday as U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said an
initial U.S.-China trade deal would be signed in early January,
adding to optimism that has been fueled by a breakthrough in
talks last week.
In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Mnuchin said the
agreement had already been put down on paper, and that it was
completely finished and just undergoing a technical "scrub."
The S&P 500 .SPX hit a sixth straight intraday record
high, its longest streak since January 2018, riding a wave that
began with hopes of a trade truce between the world's top two
economies and expectations for a smoother Brexit.
The Dow Industrials .DJI and the Nasdaq .IXIC also hit
fresh record highs.
Stocks will continue to have an upward bias until the start
of 2020, when investors will look for more specific details in
the trade agreement, said Michael Arone, chief investment
strategist at State Street Global Advisors in Boston.
"Investors are essentially waiting to see what happens next,
moving from a 'tell-me-something-good' environment to a 'show me
something good' environment," Arone said.
Further cementing optimism on the strength of the U.S.
economy, data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing
applications for unemployment benefits dropping from more than a
two-year high last week.
The market also shrugged off U.S. President Donald Trump's
impeachment, as the Republican-controlled Senate is widely
expected not to convict him and remove him from office.
At 11:50 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up
109.38 points, or 0.39%, at 28,348.66, the S&P 500 was up 9.79
points, or 0.31%, at 3,200.93 and the Nasdaq Composite was up
41.44 points, or 0.47%, at 8,869.18.
Conagra Brands CAG.N jumped 18.1%, on track for its best
day in over 30 years, after the Slim Jim maker beat quarterly
sales and profit estimates. Conagra's results also lifted other packaged food makers and
helped boost the consumer staples sector .SPLRCS 0.6%.
Micron Technology Inc MU.O gained 3.5% after signaling a
recovery in its business in 2020 and saying it had received
licenses to supply some products to Huawei.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.43-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.31-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 28 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 88 new highs and 27 new lows.

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