Dow, S&P 500 hit record closes

The Dow and S&P 500 notched record closing highs on Thursday as the latest signs of progress in US-China trade relations relieved investors, but a report raising fresh worries about the outlook for a deal limited the day's gains.

China said it had agreed with the United States to remove tariffs in phases, while state-owned Xinhua News Agency said Beijing was also considering removing restrictions on poultry imports.

But indexes pared gains in afternoon trading after a Reuters report, citing sources, said that the White House's plan to roll back China tariffs faces internal opposition and that no final decision has been made yet.

An interim US-China trade deal is expected to include a US pledge to scrap tariffs scheduled for Dec. 15.

"Any kind of uncertainty there, with the market at all-time highs, and it's easy for traders and institutions to press the sell button and take some money off the table," said Alan Lancz, president, Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc, an investment advisory firm, based in Toledo, Ohio.

The latest batch of earnings offered some upbeat news.

The S&P 500 technology index ended up 0.7%, with shares of Qualcomm Inc up 6.3% after it forecast current-quarter profit above analysts' estimates.

Together with Qualcomm, other chipmakers, which have a sizeable exposure to China, also rose, propping the Philadelphia Semiconductor index up 0.7%.

The trade-sensitive industrials sector finished up 0.2%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 182.24 points, or 0.66%, to 27,674.8, the S&P 500 gained 8.4 points, or 0.27%, to 3,085.18 and the Nasdaq Composite added 23.89 points, or 0.28%, to 8,434.52.

The day's gains resumed the recent record run for stocks, which have been bolstered, along with trade deal hopes, by some upbeat earnings.

"Corporate earnings, while down year over year, are better than many had expected, and that's a plus," said Oliver Pursche, chief market strategist of Bruderman Asset Management in New York.

Also on Thursday, Ralph Lauren Corp surged 14.7% after it topped second-quarter profit expectations, helped by a tighter control on expenses and strong demand for its Polo shirts and tweed jackets in China and Europe.

On the down side, Expedia Group Inc plunged 27.4% as the online travel booking company missed quarterly profit estimates.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.06-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.09-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 54 new 52-week highs and five new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 118 new highs and 85 new lows.

Volume on US exchanges was 7.92 billion shares, compared with the 6.83 billion-share average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.-Reuters

Friday's early afternoon trade

S&P, Dow take a breather on trade deal doubts

NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes stalled on Friday after a record run, as US President Donald Trump contradicted reports that the United States and China would roll back existing tariffs.

However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained on the back of a rise in shares of Microsoft Corp and Qualcomm Inc.

The benchmark S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow had closed at all-time highs on Thursday after officials said both US and China had agreed to roll back tariffs on each others' goods in a "phase one" trade deal if it is completed.

But Trump said on Friday he had not agreed to roll back the tariffs, although Beijing would like him to do so. The news sent all the three major US stock indexes sharply lower, but later recovered.

"Let's not forget that in the past we have come so close to a trade agreement and at the last minute there has been a pullback," said Michael Geraghty, capital market strategist at Cornerstone Capital Group in New York.

Four of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading lower, with the energy sector shedding 0.97%, making it the biggest decliner, as oil prices fell on Trump's comments before steadying.

Still, the S&P 500 was on track for its fifth straight week of gains, while the Nasdaq was eyeing its sixth consecutive weekly rise, partly propelled by a rosy third-quarter earnings season.

Walt Disney Co gained 3.3% as its popular theme parks and a remake of "The Lion King" lifted earnings, and the company also spent less than it had projected on its online streaming service, Disney+.

Of the 446 S&P 500 companies that have reported results so far, nearly three quarters have beaten profit estimates, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The numbers, to some extent, reflect significantly lowered analysts' forecasts.

At 1:03 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 33.83 points, or 0.12%, at 27,640.97, the S&P 500 was up 0.79 points, or 0.03%, at 3,085.97 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 16.93 points, or 0.20%, at 8,451.44.

Dragging on the Dow were losses in shares of industrials 3M Co and Boeing Co.