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* U.S., China planning for delay of Dec tariff - WSJ
* Autozone up after profit beat, peers rise
* Netflix drops after Needham downgrade
* Indexes up: Dow 0.11%, S&P 500 0.17%, Nasdaq 0.32%
(Updates to open)
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Medha Singh
Dec 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday after a
report that the United States and China were planning to delay a
new round of tariffs set to kick in on Dec. 15.
With the trade war continuing to take a toll on global
growth, markets have been hoping for a possible delay in tariffs
and looking for positive headlines on trade talks between the
two sides.
"It's probably the best the market can expect right now,"
said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist and senior
portfolio manager at SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York.
"It allows the U.S. and China to continue to negotiate and
to reach a phase one trade agreement."
The Wall Street Journal also reported that officials from
both sides hinted at extending trade talks. Apple Inc AAPL.O , shares of which are often sensitive to
news on trade, gained 1.1%. The broader S&P 500 technology
sector .SPLRCT rose 0.5%.
The communication services sector .SPLRCL slipped, weighed
down by Netflix Inc's NFLX.O 2.1% fall after Needham
downgraded the company's shares to "underperform". Federal Open Market Committee's two-day policy meeting
kicks off on Tuesday and investors are expecting updates from
the central bank on its 2020 economic outlook.
The S&P 500 is up 25% so far this year, boosted by the
Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts and some relief over
corporate profits.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 30.50 points,
or 0.11%, at 27,940.10, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 5.24 points,
or 0.17%, at 3,141.20 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up
27.36 points, or 0.32%, at 8,649.19.
Democrats in the House of Representatives announced formal
charges against President Donald Trump that accuse him of
abusing power and obstructing Congress. Shares in Autozone Inc AZO.N jumped 8% after the auto
parts retailer beat quarterly estimates for profit. Shares of
peers Advance Auto Parts AAP.N and O'Reilly Automotive
ORLY.O also rose.
Masco Corp MAS.N rose 0.6% after KeyBanc raised its rating
on the home improvement and building product maker's shares to
"overweight".
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.20-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.34-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 15 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and 33 new lows.