The blue-chip Dow was on course for its sixth straight daily advance. China announced tariff exemptions for a basket of US goods, a move viewed by many investors as a show of good faith just days ahead of planned talks aimed at resolving the long-running trade war, which has rattled markets and bruised world economies.
However, a senior White House adviser urged investors to be patient in an effort to curb expectations for the trade talks scheduled to take place next month in Washington.
"There's an element of improved trade optimism," said Chuck Carlson, chief executive at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. "But the bigger element is what we've seen over the last few days where investors are more willing to put more money into the value side of the equation." In a series of morning tweets, President Donald Trump called on the US Federal Reserve to slash interest rates into negative territory, a move typically seen as a last-ditch effort revive sluggish economies.
"It's been this raging friction between Trump and the Fed," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. "At the moment the market ... still believes the Fed's going to act independently and not allow itself to be politicized regardless of what Trump may be saying or tweeting." The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 139.52 points, or 0.52%, to 27,048.95, the S&P 500 gained 13.42 points, or 0.45%, to 2,992.81 and the Nasdaq Composite added 63.58 points, or 0.79%, to 8,147.73.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, all but energy and real estate were in the black. Chipmaker Micron Technology Inc rose 2.0% after Longbow Research upgraded the stock to "buy." The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index was up 1.1%.