US STOCKS-Wall Street bounces as Huawei reprieve sparks rally

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* U.S. eases restrictions on China's Huawei
* Philadelphia Chip Index set to snap 3-day losing streak
* Kohl's, J.C. Penney tumble as same-store sales disappoint
* Home Depot edges lower on slowing comp sales growth
* Indexes up: Dow 0.54%, S&P 0.68%, Nasdaq 0.87%

(Updates to open)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes rose in a broad-based
rally on Tuesday, as Washington's decision to temporarily ease
curbs on China's Huawei Technologies allayed concerns over a
further escalation in trade war between the two countries.
Chipmakers, which bore the brunt of Monday's sell-off, rose
after the United States granted the Chinese telecoms equipment
maker a license to buy U.S. goods until Aug. 19. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index .SOX gained 1.61% and
was on track to end a three-day slump. Companies that have been
supplying to Huawei including Intel Corp INTC.O , Qualcomm Inc
QCOM.O , Xilinx Inc XLNX.O and Broadcom Inc AVGO.O rose
between 1% and 2%.
The broader S&P 500 technology sector .SPLRCT rose 1.08%,
the most among the 11 major S&P sectors trading higher.
"The easing up on Huawei is being seen as a sign that while
the United States and China are unhappy with each other, neither
side wants to burn the negotiation bridge at the moment," said
Connor Campbell analyst at Spreadex in London.
U.S. President Donald Trump added Huawei HWT.UL to a trade
blacklist last week, leading several companies to suspend
business with the world's largest telecom equipment maker and
triggering fears that the decision could deeply impact the
global technology sector.
Reuters reported on Sunday that Alphabet Inc's GOOGL.O
Google would stop providing Huawei access to its proprietary
apps and services. But Huawei said on Tuesday it was working
closely with the U.S. company to resolve the restrictions.
Wall Street has been impacted by mounting concerns about a
prolonged trade war, with the S&P 500 .SPX set to post its
worst monthly decline since the December sell-off. The benchmark
index is trading 3.3% below its all-time high hit earlier in
May.
"This is a pure case of cautiousness and we're stuck in a
trading range. The recent behavior is of indecisiveness," Peter
Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities
in New York, said.
At 9:49 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 137.73 points, or 0.54%, at 25,817.63. The S&P 500 .SPX was
up 19.20 points, or 0.68%, at 2,859.43 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 67.04 points, or 0.87%, at 7,769.41.
Investors also focused on earnings reports from a handful of
retailers, which proved to be disappointing.
Home Depot Inc HD.N shares dipped 0.5%, the most on the
Dow, after the home improvement chain reported its slowest
growth in quarterly same-store sales in at least three
years.
Kohl's Corp KSS.N plunged 12.4%, the most among S&P 500
companies, after the department store operator cut its full-year
profit forecast and reported quarterly same-store sales and
profit that missed expectations.
Rival J.C. Penney Co Inc JCP.N fell 7.4% after the company
reported a bigger-than-expected fall in quarterly
comparable-store sales. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.78-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 2.78-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 21 new 52-week highs and four new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 30 new highs and 29 new lows.