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The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.21% today on easing trade war fears, to finish above 25,000 for the first time in two months. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 also finished higher.
Bottom line: Regaining 25k is a psychological victory for the markets, and a rhetorical one for free traders in the White House who reportedly have used Dow gains/losses as a way to push their agenda with President Trump.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar during a June briefing in Washington, DC. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Tuesday night he will lead a delegation to Taiwan "in the coming days."
Why it matters: It's the highest-level visit by a U.S. cabinet official to Taiwan since 1979. Azar is also the first U.S. Cabinet member to visit the island state in six years. The visit has angered China, which views Taiwan as part of its territory. Chinese officials accused the U.S. Wednesday of "endangering peace" with the visit, AFP reports.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Photo: Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images
A major explosion has slammed central Beirut, Lebanon, damaging buildings as far as several miles away and injuring scores of people.
Driving the news: At least 100 people have been killed and over 4,000 injured in the blast — and the death toll is likely to rise, the Lebanese Red Cross said, per AP. Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the explosions occurred at a warehouse that had been storing 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate for the past six years.