US stocks end higher amid trade optimism

New York, Aug 14 (IANS) Bouncing back from the steep losses of the previous day, US stocks closed higher, as the market was supported by easing US-China trade tensions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 372.54 points, or 1.44 per cent, to 26,279.91 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 was up 42.57 points, or 1.48 per cent, to 2,926.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 152.95 points, or 1.95 per cent, to 8,016.36, Xinhua reported.

Shares of JD.com surged nearly 12.9 per cent, after the Chinese e-commerce giant reported second-quarter revenue that topped market expectations, boosted by its robust sales growth in e-commerce.

The overwhelming majority of the 30 blue-chip stocks in the Dow extended gains around market close, with shares of Apple rallying over 4.23 per cent, leading the gainers.

Shares of widely-seen trade bellwethers Intel and Cisco Systems rose over 2.72 per cent and 2.29 per cent, respectively, among the best performers.

Semiconductor stocks, also sensitive to US-China trade relations, jumped around the closing bell, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 2.95 per cent.

All of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded higher around market close, with the information technology sector up nearly 2.5 per cent, leading the gainers.

On the economic front, US Consumer Price Index increased 0.3 per cent in July on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.1 per cent in June, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday.

Increases in the indexes for gasoline and shelter were the major factors in the seasonally adjusted all items monthly increase. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.8 per cent before seasonal adjustment.