US STOCKS-Wall Street rises with hopes of Mexican tariffs delay

* Reports say U.S. may postpone Mexico tariffs
* Trump to decide on $300 bln China tariffs after G20 summit
* Energy stocks gain as oil prices firm
* Indexes up: Dow 0.71%, S&P 0.61%, Nasdaq 0.53

(Updates to close, adds commentary)
By Sinéad Carew
New York June 6 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes
closed higher after a choppy session on Thursday as investors
grew more optimistic on trade after reports that the United
States is considering a delay in imposing tariffs on Mexican
imports.
The market added to gains after a Bloomberg report cited
unidentified sources saying that U.S. President Donald Trump
could delay the tariffs he had threatened to put on Mexican
goods as soon as Monday.
The Washington Post reported that under a possible
immigration deal, Mexico would deploy 6,000 troops to the
Guatemalan border. But strategists urged caution until a final U.S.-Mexico deal
is reached and followed by a U.S.-China trade deal.
"You have to take all of this with a huge grain of salt,"
said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells
Fargo Investment Institute in St. Louis, adding that even if the
Mexico report is true, "it would be a short-term positive."
"It's not giving that long-term clarity businesses and
investors and consumers need to make decisions," he said.
Earlier in the day Trump said he would decide on more
tariffs "probably right after the G20" meeting later this month,
which followed his warning overnight that he would levy duties
on at least another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 181.09 points,
or 0.71%, to 25,720.66, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 17.34 points,
or 0.61%, to 2,843.49 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
40.08 points, or 0.53%, to 7,615.55.
It was the first time since mid-May that the three major
indexes gained ground for three sessions in a row.
The energy sector .SPNY , which was the hardest-hit last
month by heightening trade tensions, rose 1.7% as crude prices
made some gains late in the day, making it the biggest
percentage gainer of the S&P's 11 major sectors. O/R
The trade-sensitive industrial sector .SPLRCI regained
some ground late in the session and ended the day up 0.01% after
falling as much as 0.86% earlier.
While investors are hopeful that the U.S. Federal Reserve
could be open to cutting interest rates if needed, they were
cautious before the U.S. jobs report due on Friday morning after
private data was weaker than expected on Wednesday. "There's a recognition that easier monetary policy is likely
to prolong this economic cycle and is likely to support higher-
than-normal valuation," said Michael Arone, chief investment
strategist at State Street Global Advisors.
"But for the market to move materially higher, there's a
feeling that trade agreements need to be reached in order to
push economic growth higher."
Federal Reserve policymakers have hinted they would be ready
to cut rates if the U.S.-China trade spat threatens a
decade-long expansion. Since early May, Trump has slapped
tariffs on Chinese imports and warned of U.S. levies on Mexico.
"People are positioning for weaker jobs data. If there's not
a trade deal by the end of June and payrolls weaken, you could
see the Fed consider a cut by the July meeting," said Wells
Fargo's Samana.
Earlier in the day, the European Central Bank also
underscored the threat to global economic expansion from the
trade disputes by trimming the region's growth forecasts for the
next two years.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.50-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.27-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 84 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 64 new highs and 154 new lows.
On U.S. exchanges 6.72 billion shares changed hands,
compared with the 7.12 billion average for the last 20 sessions.