Stocks Rise on Hope for Trade Progress

Stocks are closing higher Thursday as investors grow cautiously optimistic the US and China can make progress in upcoming trade talks, the AP reports. The S&P 500 gained 8 points, or 0.3%, to 3,009, led by technology and consumer-focused companies, although the rally lost some steam in the final minutes of trading. Microsoft rose 1% and PayPal added 3%. Shares of Amazon gained 1.1% while Hasbro rose 1.8%. Energy was the worst-performing sector as the price of oil fell 1% to $55.09 a barrel. Marathon Oil dropped 3.4%. The Dow Jones industrials rose 45 points, or 0.2%, to 27,182 after being up about 170 points earlier. The Nasdaq gained 24 points, or 0.3%, to 8,194. Bonds fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.78% from 1.73% a day earlier. (More stock market stories.)