* U.S close to finalizing parts of trade pact with China
* Intel jumps after raising revenue forecast
* Amazon drops on weak holiday-quarter forecast
* Indexes up: Dow 0.56%, S&P 0.36%, Nasdaq 0.56%
(Updates to late afternoon, changes byline, adds NEW YORK to
dateline)
By April Joyner
NEW YORK, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 rose on Friday,
briefly surpassing its record closing high, after Washington
said it was close to finalizing parts of a trade pact with
Beijing.
The benchmark index .SPX hit a session high of 3,027.39,
reaching above its closing record of 3,025.86 on July 26. It
came within a point of overtaking its all-time high of 3,027.98
set during the July 26 session.
U.S. stocks added to marginal gains early in the session
after the U.S. Trade Representative's office said that
deputy-level trade talks would continue. President Donald Trump
also struck a hopeful tone, saying that China wanted "to make a
deal very badly." The developments rounded off a strong week for equity
markets, which were boosted by a clutch of better-than-expected
third-quarter earnings reports. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were
both set for their biggest weekly percentage gain in seven
weeks.
Intel Corp's INTC.O quarterly report added to Friday's
upbeat sentiment. The chipmaker's shares jumped 7.6%, on track
for their largest daily percentage gain since January 2018,
after the company beat Wall Street revenue and profit estimates
and raised its full-year revenue forecast. The gain in Intel shares helped propel the Philadelphia SE
Semiconductor index .SOX to a record high.
Trade optimism and Intel's gains outweighed losses in shares
of Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , which fell after the e-commerce
giant forecast revenue and profit for the crucial holiday
quarter below estimates. Amazon shares were last down 1.7%, off
their session low. "The market reaction to Amazon wasn't as bad as people
thought, which created a positive atmosphere," said Michael
O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich,
Connecticut. "Then the trade headlines - I think the market
liked that as well."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 149.4 points,
or 0.56%, to 26,954.93, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 10.93 points,
or 0.36%, to 3,021.22 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
46.16 points, or 0.56%, to 8,231.96.
Boeing Co BA.N shares dropped 1.5% after Indonesian
authorities looking into October 2018's Lion Air crash said the
world's largest planemaker failed to grasp risks in the design
of cockpit software on its 737 MAX jet. Shares of VF Corp VFC.N fell 6.7% after the apparel maker
reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue as its popular
Vans and Timberland brands faced intensified competition.
Charter Communications Inc CHTR.O shares gained 6.9%. The
cable operator posted better-than-expected quarterly results,
fueled by customer growth in its broadband services business.
The next round of earnings due next week includes Apple Inc
AAPL.O , Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , Pfizer Inc PFE.N and Merck &
Co Inc MRK.N .
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.43-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.74-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 40 new 52-week highs and three new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 80 new highs and 55 new lows.