Stocks Rise Late Friday                08/17 15:48

   Stocks rose late in the day Friday as investors welcomed signs of progress 
in resolving the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. 

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks rose late in the day Friday as investors welcomed 
signs of progress in resolving the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. 
The Wall Street Journal reported that the countries hope to have a resolution 
by November.

   Industrial, health care and basic materials companies made some of the 
biggest gains. The report came a day after China said it will send an envoy to 
Washington for the first talks between the countries since early June.

   Marina Severinovsky, an investment strategist at Schroders, said stocks 
could jump if the U.S. and China make real progress toward a trade agreement. 
But stocks in emerging markets might make even bigger gains.

   "The rally that could come, if there is a better outcome, would be in 
emerging markets," she said. "China has suffered pretty greatly ... the U.S. 
has held up pretty well."

   The late gains came in spite of weak results for several chipmakers. 
Electric car maker Tesla took its biggest drop in two years on reports of a 
wider government investigation into the company and concerns about CEO Elon 
Musk's health.

   The S&P 500 index rose 9.44 points, or 0.3 percent, at 2,850.13. The Dow 
Jones Industrial Average added 110.59 points, or 0.4 percent, to 25,669.32. The 
Nasdaq composite edged up 9.81 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,816.33. The Russell 
2000 index of smaller-company stocks gained 7.19 points, or 0.4 percent, to 
1,692.95.

   The Wall Street Journal cited officials in both the U.S. and China as it 
said negotiators want to end the trade war before U.S. President Donald Trump 
and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet at multilateral events in November.

   Industrial companies made some of the biggest gains after agricultural 
equipment maker Deere posted stronger than expected sales. Its stock rose 2.4 
percent to $140.59.

   Construction equipment maker Caterpillar rose 2.3 percent to $139.34 and 
engine maker Paccar added 2.3 percent to $67.16.

   Chipmakers fell after two companies gave weaker forecasts for the third 
quarter. Nvidia said it no longer expects much revenue from products used in 
mining digital currencies, and its stock fell 4.9 percent to $244.82. Applied 
Materials slumped 7.7 percent to $43.77.

   While big names like Netflix, Facebook and Amazon slipped, Apple led 
technology companies slightly higher overall. Apple stock rose 2 percent to 
$217.58.

   Nordstrom jumped 13.2 percent to $59.18 after raising its annual profit and 
sales forecasts and posting better earnings and sales than analysts expected. 
It's been a mostly difficult week for department stores as Macy's and J.C. 
Penney both plunged after issuing their quarterly reports.

   The S&P 500 finished this week with a solid gain of 0.6 percent, but it took 
a difficult path to get there. Stocks fell early this week due to worries about 
Turkey's currency crisis, and later investors fretted about China's economic 
growth.

   The recovery started Thursday as investors hoped the upcoming talks between 
the U.S. and China will help end the impasse that has resulted in higher 
tariffs from both countries.

   The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong has fallen 13 percent since early June as 
the dispute has dragged on, and other emerging market indexes have also taken a 
hit. The S&P 500 has risen over that time.

   Tesla was hit with a series of reports that concerned shareholders. The Wall 
Street Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission started 
investigating the electric car maker last year to determine if it made false 
statements about production of its Model 3 sedan.

   The SEC is also reportedly looking into CEO Elon Musk's comment on Twitter 
about possibly taking the company private.

   Tesla stock rose from about $345 a share to about $380 following Musk's 
tweet last week, which said Tesla could go private for $420 a share. On Friday 
it dropped 8.9 percent to $305.50.

   Musk also gave an emotional interview to the New York Times, published 
Friday, about the stress he's experienced as the company tries to ramp up 
production. He said this year has been "excruciating" and described working up 
120 hours a week, raising concerns about his health.

   Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.86 
percent from 2.87 percent.

   U.S. crude picked up 0.7 percent to $65.91 a barrel in New York. Brent 
crude, the standard for international oil prices, added 0.6 percent to $71.83 
per barrel in London.

   Wholesale gasoline dipped 0.3 percent to $1.98 a gallon. Heating oil inched 
up 0.1 percent to $2.10 a gallon. Natural gas rose 1.3 percent to $2.95 per 
1,000 cubic feet.

   Gold was little changed at $1,184.20 an ounce. Silver fell 0.6 percent to 
$14.63 an ounce. Copper added 0.5 percent to $2.63 a pound.

   The dollar dipped to 110.60 yen from 110.88 yen. The euro rose to $1.1443 
from $1.1365.

   The German DAX lost 0.2 percent and France's CAC 40 fell 0.1 percent. The 
FTSE 100 in Britain was little changed.

   Japan's Nikkei 225 index added 0.4 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 
0.4 percent. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.3 percent.


(BE)