Wall Street rebounds in the face of heated trade row

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street bounced back on Tuesday, led by gains in consumer discretionary, technology and industrial stocks as investors shrugged off escalating trade rhetoric between the United States and China.

All three major U.S. indexes were higher following Monday's sell-off.

Late Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the imposition of tariffs on $200 billion in imports from China starting next week, intensifying the volley of trade actions between the world's two largest economies.

China responded on Tuesday by unveiling tariffs on about $60 billion of U.S. goods, measures set to take effect on Sept. 24, prompting President Trump to threaten additional actions if Beijing targets U.S. agricultural or industrial workers.

 

"(The trade dispute) has escalated to a point where finally we're probably getting closer to a resolution," said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. "It's almost as if we're getting down to the brass tacks of both countries having not too much more room to go."

Apple Inc shares were up 0.7 percent after Chief Executive Tim Cook expressed optimism that the U.S.-China trade dispute will be amicably settled. The iPhone maker's products have so far been spared in the tariff spat.

Fitness gadget-maker Fitbit Inc was also expected to avoid tariffs. Its shares were up 7.2 percent.

Trade-sensitive industrials <.SPLRCI> were trading higher, with Boeing Co shares up 2.4 percent. The planemaker, the biggest U.S. exporter to China, led the Dow Jones industrial average's advance.

Nike Inc also boosted the blue-chip index, its shares hitting an all-time high after Telsey Advisory Group hiked its price target. The stock was up 2.2 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 234.32 points, or 0.9 percent, to 26,296.44, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 20.96 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,909.76 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 78.84 points, or 1 percent, to 7,974.63.

Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, eight were higher.

In addition to consumer discretionary <.SPLRCD>, technology <.SPLRCT> and industrial companies, the energy sector <.SPNY> was up 0.8 percent as crude prices rose on signs that OPEC is not prepared to boost output to address shrinking supplies from Iran.

So-called defensive stocks, including real estate <.SPLRCR>, utilities <.SPLRCU> and consumer staples <.SPLRCS> were lower.

Credit card issuers Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc rose 1.1 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively, after agreeing to pay $6.2 billion to settle a long-running lawsuit with merchants over fees.

Among losers, Tesla Inc sank 3.9 percent after disclosing that it had received a request for documents from the U.S. Department of Justice regarding Chief Executive Elon Musk's public statements about taking the company private.

Insurer Marsh & McLennan was down 3.3 percent on news that it will buy British insurance and reinsurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson $5.7 billion.

General Mills Inc dropped 7.2 percent after missing analysts' quarterly sales estimates, extending the packaged food company stock's 25 percent year-to-date slide.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.51-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.73-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 31 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 46 new highs and 71 new lows.

(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Editing by Nick Zieminski)