UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Alexander Osipovich and Nathan Allen 

U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday after President Donald Trump signaled that trade talks with China had taken a turn for the better.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 353.01 points, or 1.4%, to 26465.54. The S&P 500 advanced 28.08 points, or 1%, to 2917.75, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 108.86 points, or 1.4%, to 7953.88.

Stocks opened moderately higher, then jumped after Mr. Trump tweeted that he and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had a "very good telephone conversation" and would meet later this month in Japan. The threat of a mounting trade conflict with China has weighed on U.S. economic data and prompted uncertainty among investors.

"It looks like the markets are getting excited about the potential for some sort of agreement between Trump and China," said Charlie Ripley, a strategist at Allianz Investment Management.

Technology stocks with significant Chinese exposure were among the biggest gainers. Apple rose 2.4% to $198.45. Intel climbed 2.7% to $47.37, while chip maker NVIDIA added 5.4% to close at $152.88.

Industrials also outperformed. Construction-equipment maker Caterpillar, whose shares are often seen as a bellwether for the global economy, rose 2.4% to $130.33.

U.S. crude-oil futures surged 3.8% at $53.90 a barrel, their biggest one-day gain since January, as trade tensions eased. That boosted energy stocks, with Chevron rising 1.3% to $122.93 and Exxon Mobil gaining 0.9% to close at $75.74.

Investors were also awaiting signals from the Federal Reserve on whether it was leaning toward cutting interest rates at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday.

Federal-funds futures indicated on Tuesday that investors saw an 85% chance of a rate cut in July, according to CME Group. But strategists at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other banks have warned that expectations of a summer rate cut were overblown.

European stocks posted strong gains after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled the bank could roll out fresh stimulus as soon as its next policy meeting in July.

Germany's DAX rose 2%, while the FTSE 100 climbed 1.2%. The yield on 10-year German bunds declined, closing at a record low of minus 0.320%, after Mr. Draghi said additional monetary stimulus would be required if eurozone inflation doesn't improve. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices.

Mr. Draghi's dovishness may help set the stage for a Fed rate cut, said Jason Pride, chief investment officer of private wealth at Glenmede. "It could give cover to the Fed," he said.

U.S. bond yields fell, pulled down by Mr. Draghi's comments and expectations of a Fed rate cut. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury dropped to 2.060%, its sixth consecutive day of declines.

The euro fell 0.2% against the dollar in response to the European Central Bank chief's speech. Mr. Trump tweeted to say Mr. Draghi's speech had weakened the euro, "making it unfairly easier for them to compete against USA."

Most Asian markets posted modest gains, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rising 1%. Korea's Kospi rose 0.4%, but Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.7%.

Gold futures rose 0.6% to $1346.60 a troy ounce. The WSJ dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of its peers, slipped 0.1%.

Write to Alexander Osipovich at alexander.osipovich@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 18, 2019 16:50 ET (20:50 GMT)

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