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* Apple, Microsoft, chip stocks boost tech
* Nine major S&P 500 sectors in the black
* Best Buy falls as FY same-store sales forecast disappoints
* Dollar General (NYSE:DG) climbs up after raising profit forecast
* Indexes up: Dow 1.08%, S&P 1.09%, Nasdaq 1.41%
(Changes comment, adds details; Updates prices)
By Akanksha Rana
Aug 29 (Reuters) - A rise in technology stocks lifted Wall
Street on Thursday, as China sounded hopeful of a resolution to
the protracted trade dispute with the United States, easing
investor fears of the risk of a recession.
China's commerce ministry said both sides are discussing the
next round of talks scheduled in September and hoped U.S.
officials could cancel the planned additional tariffs to avoid
an escalation, boosting sentiment and driving global stocks
higher. MKTS/GLOB
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Fox News radio
interview that trade talks were scheduled for Thursday "at a
different level," but did not provide additional details.
Tariff-sensitive tech stocks .SPLRCT jumped 1.60%, boosted
by gains in Apple Inc AAPL.O and Microsoft Corp MSFT.O .
Chipmakers which draw a large part of their revenue from
China also gained, with the Philadelphia chip index .SOX up
2.5%. Among the few losers were defensive utilities .SPLRCU
and consumer staples .SPLRCS sectors.
"Markets are trading on hopes because they (U.S., China) are
going to be talking and for the time being things aren't getting
worse," said Larry Adam, chief investment officer at Raymond
James in Baltimore.
"China is giving the U.S. another chance because we have
seen weaker data coming out of both sides and it is important
for them to extend the olive branch."
Top gainer among S&P 500 .SPX companies was Dollar General
Corp DG.N , up 9% after raising its full-year profit forecast.
European Central Bank policy maker Klaas Knot said the euro
zone economy did not warrant a resumption of bond purchases,
Bloomberg reported, which saw markets cut some gains but quickly
regain ground a few moments after. At 11:19 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 280.13 points, or 1.08%, at 26,316.23, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 31.42 points, or 1.09%, at 2,919.36. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 110.68 points, or 1.41%, at 7,967.56.
Still, Wall Street's main indexes are on course to record
their worst monthly performance since a selloff in May, spurred
by worries that tit-for-tat tariffs will drive the global
economy into a recession.
Those fears came to the fore after the U.S. yield curve
inversion deepened earlier this week to levels not seen since
2007. US/
Investors are awaiting the monthly jobs report and
manufacturing data next week, which will provide guidance on the
likelihood of another rate cut from the Federal Reserve at its
mid-September meeting.
The Trump administration on Wednesday made official its
additional 5% tariff on $300 billion in Chinese imports and set
collection dates of Sept. 1 and Dec. 15, prompting several
hundreds of U.S. companies to warn of price hikes. A number of companies, including Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) BBY.N and
Abercrombie & Fitch Co ANF.N , that reported results earlier
in the day warned of the impact from tariffs on their sales.
Shares of the U.S. consumer electronics retailer slid 9.5%,
to the bottom of the S&P 500, while those of the teen retailer
tumbled 15.9%. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 4.03-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 3.06-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 21 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 31 new highs and 29 new lows.