Stocks Pop After Reports of US-EU Trade Progress

Stocks snapped higher in late trading following a report that a European delegation had offered some concessions on trade, the AP reports. Major indexes jumped in the last half-hour of trading Wednesday after a mostly listless day of trading. The late surge came after the Wall Street Journal reported that the European delegation agreed to work with the US on lowering industrial tariffs on both sides. Investors were focused on company earnings for most of the day. Hospital operator HCA Healthcare jumped 9.2%. General Motors dropped 4.6% after lowering its outlook. The S&P 500 index rose 25 points, or 0.9%, to 2,846. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 172 points, or 0.7%, to 25,414. The Nasdaq composite climbed 91 points, or 1.2%, to 7,932, another all-time high. (More stock market stories.)