US STOCKS-Wall St rises in hope in US-China trade relations

* White House says China wants to reach trade deal

* US to raise tariffs on Chinese goods Friday

* Disney increases before profits; TripAdvisor plunges after the results

* Index up: 0.43% for Dow, 0.28% for S & P, 0.21% for Nasdaq (Exchange updates at the end of the day, changes to the line, addition of NEW YORK to the creation date)

By April Joyner

NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) – US stocks rose slightly on Wednesday, on the verge of winding down this week, as investors clung to optimistic ratings of the latest developments in US-China trade relations before a crucial round of negotiations.

The main Wall Street indexes have reversed their trend since their rapid decline after White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the United States had received an indication from Beijing that China wanted to conclude a trade deal .

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, China's chief negotiator, is scheduled to visit Washington on Thursday and Friday.

Despite this, the US government announced in its official journal that it would increase tariffs on Chinese goods worth $ 200 billion, to 25% on Friday. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce later said it should retaliate if US tariffs were raised.

Trade-sensitive industrial and technology sectors, which fell sharply earlier this week, increased slightly. At the same time, the defensive public services sector fell by almost 1%.

"Really, we are witnessing a negotiation unfolding before our eyes," said JJ Kinahan, chief markets strategist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago. "The things of the weekend have led to the decline, and the more positive news of today is leading to the rise."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 111.59 points, or 0.43%, to 26,076.68, the S & P 500 gained 8.18 points, or 0.28%, to 2,892.23 and the Nasdaq Composite added 17.02 points, or 0.21%, to 7,980.78.

The benchmark S & P 500 remains more than 2% lower than its record of 2,954.13 reached last week.

Shares of Walt Disney Co, which are expected to post their results after the bell, rose 1.4%. Disney was one of the main drivers of the S & P 500.

Conversely, TripAdvisor Inc. shares fell by 11.8%, the largest number of companies in the S & P 500, after the quarterly revenues of the online travel company missed analysts' estimates. TripAdvisor has also been the main drag on the benchmark.

As earnings season enters its home stretch, first-quarter profits are now up 1.2%, a clear improvement from the 2.3% decline expected early in the campaign.

According to Refinitiv data, approximately 75% of the 426 S & P companies reporting earnings exceeded earnings estimates.

Increasing issues outnumber declining issues on the NYSE with a ratio of 1.23 to 1; on the Nasdaq, a ratio of 1.11 to 1 favored the advanced.

The S & P 500 has recorded five new highs over 52 weeks and six new highs; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 39 new highs and 56 new lows. (Report by April Joyner, additional report by Amy Caren Daniel and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru, edited by Sriraj Kalluvila and Chizu Nomiyama)