US STOCKS-S&P 500 hits all-time high on trade optimism

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Pence delays China speech amid "positive signs" on talks -
WSJ
* Energy sector gains as crude prices rise
* Dow up 0.17%, S&P off 0.02%, Nasdaq down 0.09%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Amy Caren Daniel and Shreyashi Sanyal
June 21 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 touched a record high for
the second straight session on Friday as hopes of trade talks
between Washington and Beijing were lifted by U.S. Vice
President Mike Pence's decision to defer a planned speech on
China policy.
The decision was taken amid "positive signs" that trade
talks with China could be back on track, the Wall Street Journal
reported, citing a senior administration official. The benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX hit an intraday high of
2,964.15 on Friday, but retreated into a tight range as rising
tensions between the United States and Iran kept investors on
edge.
The United States and China have said they would restart
their trade talks after a lull at the Group of 20 summit in
Japan next week.
"Investors are cautiously optimistic about the G20 summit.
If they make progress then markets will celebrate that," said
Michael Antonelli, market strategist at Robert W. Baird in
Milwaukee.
Stocks are now set to log their third straight week of
gains, after posting their worst monthly performance this year
in May on fears the prolonged trade war would hit global
economic growth.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he aborted a
military strike on Iran in response to Teheran downing a U.S.
drone, but the possibility of a U.S. retaliation pushed crude
prices higher and helped lift the energy sector .SPNY by
0.49%. O/R
Traders also pointed to higher volatility during Friday's
session on account of "quadruple witching," as investors unwind
interests in futures and options contracts prior to expiration.
At 13:09 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 45.72 points, or 0.17%, at 26,798.89 and the S&P 500
.SPX was down 0.53 points, or 0.02%, at 2,953.65.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 7.13 points, or 0.09%,
at 8,044.21.
The tech-heavy index was weighed down by a 2.02% fall in
PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL.O after the digital payments company
said its chief operating officer Bill Ready would step down.
CarMax Inc KMX.N rose as much as 6% to a record high after
the used-vehicles retailer posted quarterly results above
analysts' expectations.
Carnival Corp CCL.N fell for the second day, down 4.53%,
and among the biggest decliners. Several brokerages trimmed
their price targets after the cruise operator cut its 2019
profit forecast.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.47-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.71-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 33 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 42 new highs and 49 new lows.