Tech Companies Lead U.S. Stock Rally Amid Trade Progress Signs

Technology companies led a broad rally in U.S. stocks Wednesday that gave the market its third consecutive gain and nudged the Nasdaq composite to an all-time high.

The major stock indexes jumped in the last half-hour of trading amid reports that a meeting between President Donald Trump and a European Union trade delegation had yielded an agreement to work on averting a budding dispute between the two trading partners.

Health care and industrial stocks also posted solid gains. Phone companies and other high-dividend, safe-play stocks lagged the broader market. Homebuilders slumped on government data showing sales of new U.S. homes fell in June.

The S&P 500 index notched its best day in more than a month, climbing 25.67 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,846.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 172.16 points, or 0.7 percent, to 25,414.10. The Nasdaq added 91.47 points, or 1.2 percent, to 7,932.24. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks followed up its worst day in a month with a gain of 5.01 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,685.20.

The S&P 500, the market’s benchmark index, is on track for its fourth weekly gain in a row.

Investors have been focused this week on company earnings, which have mostly topped Wall Street’s expectations. At the same time, traders are still wary of global trade tensions, which have ratcheted up in recent weeks as the U.S. and some of its trading partners have imposed tariffs on some products and threatened more.

That’s why news the U.S. and the EU are working to mend a frayed trade relationship injected a wave of hopeful buying into the market.

The latest wave of corporate report cards also had traders in a buying mood Wednesday, with the technology sector accounting for most of the market’s gains. Corning vaulted 11.3 percent to $33.21.

HCA Healthcare jumped 9.2 percent to $118.13 after the hospital operator turned in quarterly results that were better than analysts were expecting.

Coca-Cola rose 1.8 percent to $46.09 after the company served up quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ forecasts. The company noted that its diet sodas are selling better after undergoing some image changes.

Not all companies reported favorable results.

General Motors slumped 4.6 percent to $37.65 after the automaker cut its outlook for the year, mostly due to tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The diminished expectations overshadowed GM’s strong second-quarter results.

Benchmark U.S. crude added 78 cents, or 1.1 percent, to settle at $69.30 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 49 cents to close at $73.93 per barrel in London.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.96 percent from 2.95 percent late Tuesday.

The dollar fell to 110.83 yen from 111.22 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1699 from $1.1683.

Gold gained $6.30 to $1,231.80 an ounce. Silver added 7 cents to $15.59 an ounce. Copper rose 1 cent to $2.82 a pound.

In other energy futures trading, heating oil rose 2 cents to $2.15 a gallon. Wholesale gasoline added 3 cents to $2.12 a gallon. Natural gas gained 4 cents to $2.78 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Major stock indexes in Europe finished lower.