WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After an early move to the upside, stocks have given back some ground but remain firmly positive in mid-day trading on Monday. With the upward move, the major averages are partly offsetting the steep losses posted last Friday.
The major averages are currently holding on to notable gains. The Dow is up 201.93 points or 0.8 percent at 25,830.83, the Nasdaq is up 70.78 points or 0.9 percent at 7,822.55 and the S&P 500 is up 21.37 points or 0.8 percent at 2,868.48.
The early strength on Wall Street came as President Donald Trump has continued to express optimism about a potential U.S.-China trade deal despite the ever-escalating trade war.
Trump told reporters at the G-7 summit in France that top Chinese officials had called asking for the resumption of trade talks.
'China called, last night, our top trade people, and said, 'Let's get back to the table.' So, we'll be getting back to the table. And I think they want to do something,' Trump said.
'They've been hurt very badly, but they understand this is the right thing to do. And I have great respect for it. I have great respect for it. This is a very positive development for the world,' he added.
However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he was not aware of any call between U.S. and Chinese officials and Trump refused to provide details.
It is worth noting that Trump routinely makes optimistic remarks about U.S.-China trade talks even as he continues to escalate the dispute between the two economic superpowers.
Trump once again ramped up the trade war after the close of trading last Friday by announcing plans to raise the rate of tariffs previously imposed on Chinese imports.
A 25 percent tariff on approximately $250 billion worth of Chinese imports will be raised to 30 percent beginning October 1st, while the 10 percent tariff on the remaining $300 billion worth of Chinese imports that Trump announced earlier this month will now be 15 percent.
The increase in the tariff rates came after China announced plans to impose news tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. imports, which Trump called 'politically motivated.'
Trump said on Twitter that he is ordering U.S. companies to start looking for alternatives to doing business with China and has suggested he could declare a national emergency to force companies to change their businesses practices.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing a continued spike in orders for transportation equipment contributed to a bigger than expected jump in durable goods orders in the month of July.
The report said durable goods orders surged up by 2.1 percent in July following a downwardly revised 1.8 percent increase in June. Economists had expected orders to climb by 1.1 percent compared to the 1.9 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month.
Excluding the spike in orders for transportation equipment, however, durable goods orders fell by 0.4 percent in July after rising by 0.8 percent in June. The pullback came as a surprise to economists, who had expected ex-transportation orders to inch up by 0.1 percent.
Sector News
Tobacco stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances in mid-day trading, with the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index climbing by 1.3 percent.
A modest rebound by the price of crude oil is also contribute to notable strength among energy stocks, as crude for October delivery is rising $0.17 to $54.34 a barrel after tumbling $1.18 to $54.17 a barrel last Friday.
Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index are up by 1.2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
Semiconductor, gold, and telecom stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, although most of the major sectors are showing more modest moves to the upside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply lower during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index plunged by 2.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index tumbled by 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day, with the U.K. markets closed for a holiday. The German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back near the unchanged line after seeing modest strength earlier in the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 1.527 percent.
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