* Trump says Phase 1 deal will be signed at the White House
* China factory activity expands for a second straight month
* S&P 500 set for best year since 2013
* Indexes up: Dow 0.02%, S&P 0.06%, Nasdaq 0.14%
(Updates to open)
By Manas Mishra
Dec 31 (Reuters) - Wall Street edged higher on Tuesday,
recovering from a dip at the open, as President Donald Trump
disclosed the date and location for the signing of the
much-awaited initial U.S.-China trade deal.
Trump wrote in a tweet that the Phase 1 agreement would be
signed on Jan. 15 at the White House and that he would later
travel to Beijing to begin negotiations on the next phase.
Trade-sensitive tech stocks .SPLRCT , including Apple Inc
AAPL.O , were the biggest boosts to the benchmark S&P 500
index, which is on track for its best year since 2013 and the
second-best year in two decades.
A relatively loose monetary policy by the Federal Reserve
and upbeat economic indicators have also lifted the major U.S.
stock indexes to all-time highs this month.
Latest data from China showed manufacturing activity
expanded for a second straight month in December, partly driven
by seasonal demand. The figures align with other signs of stabilization in the
Asian economy, including last week's data that showed profits at
China's industrial firms grew at the fastest pace in eight
months in November.
At home, data showed a reading of the consumer confidence
index was 126.5 in December, compared with a revised 126.8 in
November. At 9:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 6.15 points, or 0.02%, at 28,468.29, while the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 1.81 points, or 0.06%, at 3,223.10. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 12.82 points, or 0.14%, at 8,958.81.
Trading volumes are expected to remain thin this week, with
stock markets shut for the New Year's Day holiday on Wednesday.
Among individual stocks, U.S.-listed shares of Tencent Music
Entertainment TME.N rose 1.5% after a consortium led by the
China-based company agreed to buy a stake in Vivendi's Universal
Music Group. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.35-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 2.00-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded three new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 36 new highs and 12 new lows.