US Stocks Jump on Scheduled Resumption of US-China Trade War Talks
Stocks shot up Thursday as investors were encouraged to hear that China hasn't given up on resolving the trade dispute with the US.
Stocks were solidly higher during trading on Wall Street after the US and China agreed to restart trade talks next month in Washington and after some encouraging reports on the economy.
Payroll processor ADP said US businesses added 195,000 jobs in August, which was well above analysts predictions. The Labor Department also reported that overall productivity rose 2.3% during the second quarter, also beating economists' growth forecasts.
Technology stocks led the gains for a second day in a row as investors again fed a bigger appetite for riskier holdings. Chipmakers were among the standouts. Intel rose 3.8% and Nvidia rose 5.8%.
Banks moved broadly higher as bond yields rose, which gives them more leverage to charge higher interest rates on loans and garner more profit. JPMorgan Chase rose 3% and Bank of America rose 3.6%.
Consumer-focused companies also rose broadly. Nike, which stands to benefit if the trade war ends sooner rather than later, rose 1.7%. Amazon rose 1.8%.
Thursday's announcement on trade talks followed new tariff hikes last weekend by both governments and a report that envoys were struggling to agree on a schedule for the talks that were originally planned for this month.
The latest escalation of the trade war kicked in Sunday, when the US imposed 15% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports, extending penalties to almost everything the United States buys from China. Beijing responded by imposing duties of 10% and 5% on a range of American imports.
US tariffs of 25% imposed previously on $250 billion of Chinese goods are due to rise to 30% on Oct. 1.
