Boeing Says It’s Returning 737 Max to the Skies

MANHATTAN (AFP) — Wall Street was mostly lower Monday in a quiet holiday session, but Boeing's announcement that it’s returning its 737 MAX to service after two deadly crashes provide a boost to the Dow.

Boeing said it still hopes the Federal Aviation Administration will allow it to resume MAX deliveries to airlines before the end of the year, and to approve the aircraft to fly again in January.

Boeing shares jumped by 4.6%, helping the Dow Jones Industrial Average recover from early losses to end the day a fraction higher at 27,691.49.

The S&P 500 also clawed back off the lows of the day but closed down by 0.2% at 3,017.01, while the Nasdaq dropped by 0.1% to finish at 8,464.28

After all three indexes hit records last week, investors are awaiting news on the US-China trade conflict.

Art Hogan of National Holdings, an asset manager, said markets are "trying to figure out whether we know where we stand on trade, because of mixed messages coming out of the White House."

President Trump on Friday contradicted Chinese assertions that Washington and Beijing had agreed to roll back tariffs.

With the U.S. government closed for Veteran's Day, trading was fairly quiet but investors will have plenty of material to digest on the U.S. economy Tuesday, including a report from the Port of Los Angeles on the impact of the China trade war on jobs and the economy.

Government inflation data is due out Wednesday and industrial production on Friday, but the main attention-grabber will be testimony before Congress by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday and Thursday.

Powell is expected to reiterate his message that the central bank is done for now with policy moves and will be on standby to see how the economy reacts to three interest rate cuts this year.

Most of the corporate earnings season is complete, but Walmart releases its quarterly results Thursday. Shares in the retail chain fell by 0.3%.

Southwest Airlines closed with a modest gain after the Boeing announcement. The airline has been hard hit by the grounding of the 737 MAX.

Walgreen Boots Alliance jumped by 5% amid news it had received a buyout offer.

© Agence France-Presse

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