Investing.com--The S&P 500 rose Tuesday on rising hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the second-day of trade talks between the two nations were "going well."
At 4:00 p.m. ET (20:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 31 points, or 0.1%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.3%, and the NASDAQ Composite added 0.3%.
Lutnick: U.S.-China trade talks ’going well’
Trade talks between the world’s largest economies, which began on Monday, are "going well," Lutnick said, adding that discussions may continue through Wednesday.
Investors are hoping that the talks will spur further deescalation in a bitter trade tariff exchange between the U.S. and China, after they agreed in May to temporarily slash their respective tariffs.
Focus this time round is on China’s restriction of rare earth minerals, which have threatened to greatly disrupt global supplies, as well U.S. restrictions on chip exports to China.
These negotiations have the potential to influence financial markets, particularly in China, according to analysts at Capital Economics.
Capital Economics cautions against expecting a significant turnaround, stating, "We wouldn’t bank on a big turnaround thanks to any potential trade breakthroughs."
They emphasized that "the tariff shock to China’s equities hasn’t actually been especially large, with other factors such as domestic policy more important."
Furthermore, they "doubt that the U.S. will back off completely," which is likely to "restrain any relief rally."
Inflation data arriving soon
There is little on the economic data slate for investors to focus on Tuesday, with the spotlight set to turn to the release of the key consumer price index on Wednesday.
The print is expected to show some increases in inflation, especially as import prices have increased due to Trump’s tariffs, as the Federal Reserve attempts to format monetary policy in the wake of Friday’s healthy payrolls report.
Strategists at Citi have predicted that the Fed would leave borrowing costs on hold at a range of 4.25% to 4.5% at its meetings in June and July, before opting to slash rates in September. The brokerage is then pencilling in 25-basis point cuts at each subsequent meeting through March of next year, for a total of 125 basis points worth of reductions.
The Fed is "on hold, but cuts [are] still coming," the Citi analysts wrote in a note to clients.
Apple slightly higher after disappointing annual conference
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed marginally higher a day after kicking off its annual developers conference with a keynote address that included a range of updates to its artificial intelligence offerings.
The developments failed to excite investors keen for the California-based group to roll out big advancements in its harnessing of the nascent technology.
Apple’s presentations at its Worldwide Developers Conference featured improvements like live translations for phone calls. Yet the firm kept many of its AI promises to consumers muted.
Elsewhere, JM Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) stock fell sharply after the consumer foods group missed its quarterly earnings forecast, flagging a "dynamic and evolving external environment" stemming from recent trade tensions.
Designer Brands (NYSE:DBI) stock slumped after the footwear retailer reported first-quarter earnings that fell short of analyst expectations, withdrawing its full-year guidance amid macroeconomic uncertainty in the process.
In chip stocks, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) climbed 4% after reporting a nearly 40% jump in revenue for May.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) fell more than 1% after Redburn Atlantic double downgraded the stock to a sell rating, citing declniing foot traffic and the impact of GLP-1 obesity drugs,
Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article