Wall Street rises on trade optimism

US stocks rose on Friday after President Donald Trump said the United States may not have to impose further tariffs on Chinese goods.

The markets moved higher, however, after the president said China seemed willing to make a deal on trade and that the United States may not have to impose further tariffs on the Chinese goods.

 “We caught a little bit of a rally on the president’s quotes on the upcoming meeting with China,” said Mark Kepner, equity trader at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey.

But lagging Nvidia and Facebook shares capped the Nasdaq’s gains.

Nvidia tumbled 18.8 per cent after the chipmaker pointed to the decline in cryptocurrency mining as the cause of its declining sales.

The chipmaker’s shares also weighed on the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index, which declined 0.8 per cent.

Facebook shares dropped 2.8 per cent upon renewed concerns that the company could face regulatory scrutiny following a New York Times report on Wednesday about the company’s attempts to deflect criticism.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 163.82 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 25,453.09, the S&P 500 gained 12.21 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 2,742.41 and the Nasdaq Composite added 10.08 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 7,269.11.

S&P 500 energy stocks rose 1.3 per cent as oil prices recovered from sharp losses this week on expectations that OPEC and its allies would agree to cut output next month.

S&P 500 utility stocks also jumped, advancing 1.4 per cent, as PG&E Corp shares surged 38.8 per cent.

Statements from the California Public Utilities Commission raised hopes that the embattled utility company could be spared from bankruptcy if it were found liable for the state’s deadliest-ever wildfire.

Consumer discretionary stocks, however, fell 0.4 per cent.

Continuing a gloomy week for retailers, shares of department store operator Nordstrom Inc tumbled 13.9 per cent after quarterly same-store sales missed estimates and the company reported charges from a credit card problem.