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Industrials, tech stocks boost Wall Street on renewed China-US trade hopes

The escalating trade dispute between China and US has weighed heavily on the equity markets

Nasdaq, stock exchange, NYSE

Reuters
US stocks rose on Tuesday, led by gains in industrials and a rebound in technology stocks, after a report that the United States and China hoped to resume talks to defuse a trade war between the world's two largest economies.

Representatives of US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are having private conversations as they look for ways to re-engage in negotiations, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

The escalating trade dispute, with the two countries levying tariffs on $34 billion of each other's goods earlier this month, has weighed heavily on the equity markets. The likelihood of a respite boosted the markets, with nine of the 11 major S&P sectors higher.
 
"The most important influence on the markets today is some tempering of the trade war escalation," said Bill Northey, senior vice president at US Bank Wealth Management in Helena, Montana.

"There has been a pretty strong sell-off in technology stocks and we are getting a little bit of a relief rally ahead of some important earnings after markets close."

After a three-day slide, the technology sector rose 0.81 per cent. Apple, due to report after the bell, was up 1.1 per cent and was the biggest boost to the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Others in the so-called FAANG group - Facebook, Amazon.com, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet - were up between 0.8 per cent and 1.8 per cent.

The industrial sector jumped 2.12 per cent and was on pace for its best one-day gain in three weeks. Boeing, Caterpillar and 3M jumped between 2 per cent and 3.3 per cent.

At 12:43 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 177.33 points, or 0.70 per cent, at 25,484.16, the S&P 500 was up 20.29 points, or 0.72 per cent, at 2,822.89 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 68.11 points, or 0.89 per cent, at 7,698.11.

Core personal consumption expenditures (PCE), the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, rose 1.9 per cent year-over-year in June, the Commerce Department said.

The Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it wraps up its two-day meeting on Wednesday and has forecast two more rate hikes by December.

The financial sector fell 0.48 per cent, with bank stocks the biggest drags on the S&P and the Dow.

Among stocks, Pfizer's shares rose 2.8 per cent, reversing course from premarket losses, after the drugmaker's quarterly results topped estimates.

Chipotle Mexican Grill sank 5.9 per cent after at least 140 people said they had fallen sick after eating at an Ohio restaurant of the burrito chain operator.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 2.71-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.34-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 16 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 24 new highs and 62 new lows.



(Reporting by Amy Caren Daniel in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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First Published: Jul 31 2018 | 11:31 PM IST

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