Stocks rose Tuesday on news that face-to-face talks between U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators would begin next week. A batch of stronger-than-expected earnings also lifted investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 177.29 points higher, or 0.7%, at 27,349.19. The S&P 500 also advanced 0.7% to close back above 3,000 at 3,005.47. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6% to close at 8,251.40.
CNBC’s Kayla Tausche reported, citing sources, that in-person talks will begin next week. However, sources also said White House officials are eyeing a longer-term timeline for a deal.
Bloomberg News initially reported that in-person talks between China and the U.S. would start Monday as U.S. negotiators headed to China. The U.S. delegation will be led by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and will be in China through Wednesday, according to the report.
“Any incremental news on trade will be received well,” said Doug Foreman, chief investment officer at Kayne Anderson Rudnick. “I don’t think there’s any high expectations on that front, so anything that’s positive there will be a positive for the market.”
“People like me had written this off until after the election,” Foreman said.
Shares of Caterpillar and Deere hit their session highs on the report and closed up 2.1% and 1.9%, respectively. The major indexes had notched slight gains earlier in the day as investors cheered strong earnings from companies like Coca-Cola and United Technologies.
“The story in the market is earnings and the prospects of easier monetary policy,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities. “That’s causing a rush into equities.”
Coca-Cola shares jumped more than 6% after the company posted earnings and revenue that topped analyst expectations. Coca-Cola pointed to a 4% rise in volume and transactions during the previous quarter in Coke’s namesake brand. Volume from its Zero Sugar line also grew by double digits.
United Technologies, another Dow component, reported better-than-expected quarterly results and its stock gained 1.5%. CEO Gregory Hayes pointed to “outperformance” from its Collins Aerospace division as a driver for the strong quarter. The company also raised its full-year outlook for earnings and organic sales growth.
Biogen also reported better-than-expected earnings, sending its stock up 4.9%.
Visa, Chipotle and Snap are among those reporting after the bell.
More than 18% of S&P 500 companies have posted quarterly numbers this earnings season. Of those companies more than 78% have reported better-than-expected profits, according to FactSet data. Those companies have also seen their earnings grow by an aggregate of 3.6%.
Meanwhile, global stocks appeared to receive support from expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Federal Reserve could soon cut interest rates. The ECB is seen cutting rates by 10 basis points on Thursday, with the U.S. central bank expected to lower rates by 25 basis points at the end of the month.
The Stoxx 600 index jumped 1% while the German Dax and French CAC 40 climbed 1.6% and 0.9%, respectively. Spanish and Italian stocks also traded higher.
