Wednesday's early afternoon trade: indexes set for best day in two weeks on Trump trade comments

US stock indexes were set for their best day in two weeks on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said a trade deal with China could happen sooner than expected, while Nike shares hit a record high on upbeat quarterly results.
Wall Street had a sluggish start after Democratic lawmakers moved to launch an impeachment inquiry into Trump, adding fresh uncertainty for markets already roiled by the US-China trade tussle and worries over slowing global economic growth.
Trump's comments were in contrast to his harsh rhetoric on Tuesday on the trade dispute, which rattled global stock markets on Wednesday.
"Its good news that (Trump) thinks the talks are making progress, but ultimately what investors want to see is a signed agreement," said Michael Geraghty, equity strategist at Cornerstone Capital Group.
"The talks with China continue but as we have seen in the past, apparent progress is later undone because of a hard-line stance by either both countries or one of the countries."
Nike Inc shares jumped 3.7% to a record high and were among the top boosts to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 after the company's first-quarter results beat market expectations.
Footwear retailer Foot Locker Inc gained 2.3%.
Boeing Co rose 1.8% after the aircraft maker said it created a new permanent safety committee in the aftermath of two fatal 737 MAX crashes. The stock touched a more than 5-1/2 month high earlier in the session.
Shares in Philip Morris surged 6.1% after the tobacco company called off merger talks with Altria Group Inc and said it would instead focus on the US launch of its tobacco-heating product, iQOS.
The trade-sensitive Philadelphia chip index gained 0.70%, while the broader technology sector rose 0.45%.
Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were in the black, with the defensive utilities, real estate and healthcare sectors on the back foot.
At 13:09 ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 149.81 points, or 0.56%, at 26,957.58 and the S&P 500 was up 9.26 points, or 0.31%, at 2,975.86. The Nasdaq Composite was up 34.94 points, or 0.44%, at 8,028.57.