Wall Street opens up as profits rise

US stocks rose for a third consecutive day on Thursday, as manufacturers advanced after President Donald Trump said trade talks with China "were progressing well" and that the strong performance of chip makers was strengthening the pace of growth. optimism.

Trump said he planned to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Argentina at the end of the month, reviving the hope that the world's two largest economies could resolve their trade dispute bitter.

"We had great results, so the markets got off to a good start, but then backed off, and by the time this tweet aired, things had turned out, showing that the trade is still a priority for the markets, "said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

The trade-sensitive S & P industrial sector grew 1.56%, led by Boeing Co and Caterpillar Inc.

The materials sector, which grew 2.78%, was the best-performing sector among the top 11 sectors of S & P. ​​The largest increase came from the 6.9% increase in DowDuPont Inc, after the solid results of the chemical manufacturer and its $ 3 billion stock repurchase.

Apple Inc. was 0.07% ahead of the bell, with technology stocks up 0.56% to continue their recovery.

Robust results from Apple's three vendors, NXP Semiconductors, Dialog Semiconductor and Qorvo Inc., also contributed to the 3.71% rise in the Philadelphia Semiconductor index.

The tech sector has largely dominated the uptrend of the stock market, which lasted a decade, as well as the October plunge, the 8% decline in the index constituting its worst monthly loss since March 2012 .

"People are returning to technology again, showing an increase in risk appetite and people coming back to fast-growing names," said Jeff Carbone, Managing Partner at Cornerstone Wealth in Charlotte, North Carolina.

At 12:58 pm EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 216.44 points, or 0.86 percent, to $ 25,332.20, while the S & P 500 was up 20.66 points, or 0 , 76%, at 2,732.40 and the Nasdaq Composite up 88.77 points, or 1.21%. at 7,394.66.

However, not all the gains were encouraging.

HanesBrands Inc. retreated 7.3% after the interior clothing manufacturer lowered its profit forecast for the full year, accusing Sears Holdings Corp of bankruptcy and strength. of his dollar.

Of the 348 companies in the S & P 500 that have published earnings so far, 77% have reported earnings above expectations, bringing the estimate of S & P 500 earnings growth to 26%. , 2%, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Newfield Exploration Co. jumped 10.4%, the most on the S & P, after Encana Corp, of Canada, announced that it would buy the company under a contract of $ 5.5 billion.

Increasing issues outnumbered decliers with a ratio of 3 to 1 on the NYSE and a ratio of 3.26 to 1 for the Nasdaq.

The S & P index recorded 11 new highs over 52 weeks and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 25 new highs and 40 new lows.