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* Major U.S. stock averages snap 3-day sell-off
* J&J gains as tests show no asbestos in baby powder
* Alphabet advances after Sundar Pichai named CEO
* Indexes up: Dow 0.53%, S&P 500 0.63%, Nasdaq 0.54%
(Updates to market close)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Wall Street rebounded on
Wednesday as investor optimism got a boost from U.S. President
Donald Trump's remarks that talks with China on an interim trade
deal were going "very well."
All three major U.S. stock indexes snapped a three-day
losing streak with a broad-based rally, led by financial,
healthcare and tariff-sensitive technology stocks.
Trump's comments supported a Bloomberg report that the
world's two largest economies were closer to agreeing how many
tariffs would be rolled back in a "phase one" trade deal.
Fears that a stalemate in negotiations could lead to new
tariffs taking effect as scheduled on Dec. 15 have dampened
market participants' enthusiasm in recent days, with the major
U.S. stock averages falling back from last week's record highs.
Still, even as stock markets get whipsawed by daily trade
developments, Doug Cote, senior portfolio manager at Voya
Investment Management in New York, believes investors should not
lose sight of solid underlying market fundamentals.
"Anything that happens on any day is because of trade, but
it's a much richer mosaic underneath," Cote said. "The
consumer's on fire. That's what's behind the resilience in the
market and this will be the best holiday season on record."
"Everyone sees this trade battle as World War Three, and
it's not," Cote added.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 146.97 points,
or 0.53%, to 27,649.78, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 19.57 points,
or 0.63%, to 3,112.77 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
46.03 points, or 0.54%, to 8,566.67.
All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 ended the session in
positive territory, with energy .SPNY enjoying the biggest
percentage gain, boosted by a 4.0% jump in crude prices CLc1 .
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O rose 1.9% following its announcement
that Sundar Pichai would take the helm as CEO. Shares of Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N advanced 1.6% after
recent tests showed its baby powder was asbestos-free. U.S. Food
and Drug Administration investigations reported trace amounts of
the carcinogen in the product earlier this year. Online travel platform Expedia Group Inc EXPE.O jumped
6.2%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500, after chair Barry
Diller announced the resignations of the company's chief
executive and financial officers. On the economic front, market participants largely shrugged
off weak November data from ADP, which reported fewer private
payroll additions than expected, and from the Institute for
Supply Management's PMI report, which showed the services
sector's growth losing steam. Investors are now eyeing the U.S. Labor Department's
November employment report, expected on Friday.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
2.35-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.58-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 63 new highs and 44 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 7.00 billion shares, compared
with the 6.79 billion-share average over the last 20 trading
days.