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* Philadelphia Semiconductor index gains
* Under Armour drops on federal probe, revenue outlook cut
* McDonald's falls after CEO dismissal
* Indexes up: Dow 0.3%, S&P 0.4%, Nasdaq 0.6%
(Updates to late afternoon)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Monday,
hitting record highs again on hopes of a U.S.-China trade deal
and an improving domestic economy.
U.S. officials on Friday indicated that a trade deal with
China could be signed this month, with risk sentiment also
boosted by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross saying on Sunday that
licenses for U.S. companies to sell components to Huawei
Technologies Co Ltd HWT.UL would come "very shortly."
In May, Huawei, the world's largest telecoms equipment
provider, was put under a U.S. blacklist citing national
security concerns. The technology .SPLRCT sector gained, as trade-sensitive
chip stocks rallied and also helped the Philadelphia
Semiconductor index .SOX to a record high.
Optimism about progress with China after Friday's market
highs is "making it easier for investors to continue buying and
climbing a wall of worry," said Michael James, managing director
of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.
Energy shares jumped along with gains in oil prices.
The third-quarter earnings season has been fairly upbeat,
with the majority of S&P 500 companies beating profit
expectations so far, according to Refinitiv data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 91.11 points,
or 0.33%, to 27,438.47, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 11.02 points,
or 0.36%, to 3,077.93 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
49.57 points, or 0.59%, to 8,435.97.
Last week's interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, hopes
of a trade deal and a better-than-feared October jobs growth
report have been the main catalysts of the recent rally.
Financial stocks .SPSY gained 0.90%, helped by a 1.2% rise
in shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRKa.N after it topped
estimates for quarterly operating profit. Limiting the day's gains was a roughly 3% drop in shares of
McDonald's Corp MCD.N , which dismissed Chief Executive Steve
Easterbrook over a consensual relationship with an employee.
Under Armour Inc UAA.N fell more than 19% as the
sportswear maker lowered its full-year revenue forecast for a
second straight time this year, a day after it confirmed a
federal probe related to its accounting practices. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.64-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.75-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 65 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 134 new highs and 34 new lows.