Stocks rally on fresh hopes of a US-China trade deal

• Stocks climbed on Wednesday after President Trump signaled the US could be close to reaching a deal with China, igniting fresh hopes that the two countries might reach a resolution in the year-long trade spat.
• While speaking to reporters at the Untied Nations in New York on Wednesday, Trump said a US-China trade deal might happen "sooner than you think."
• Shares of Nike surged as much as 6.4% to a record high on Wednesday after the company reported an earnings beat on Tuesday evening.
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Stocks gained on Wednesday as positive developments in the US-China trade spat gave investors hope a resolution could be reached earlier than expected.

President Trump said a trade deal might happen "sooner than you think," while speaking with reporters at the United Nations in New York on Wednesday.

Trump's comment comes after the US and China held deputy-level trade talks in Washington, D.C. last week to the establish the groundwork for high-level negotiations in October.

Stocks also rallied after the White House published a transcript of Trump's conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The release appeared to ease investors' concerns after a formal impeachment inquiry into the conversation was launched by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday.

Here's a look at the major indexes as of the 4 p.m. close on Wednesday:

• The S&P 500 rose 0.62%, to 2,984.87.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.61%, to 26,971.01.
• The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.05%, to 8,077.38.

Nike's stock soared as much as 6.4% to a record high on Wednesday after reporting an earnings beat on Tuesday evening. The company's strong results were boosted a 27% jump in sales in Greater China, a key market for Nike's transformation efforts following two quarters of disappointing growth.

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Shares of eBay slid as much as 3% after CEO Dennis Wenig announced a surprise departure from his role. eBay also said it plans to continue reviewing its assets including ticket sales website StubHub and the Classified Group.

Philip Morris and top Juul investor Altria called off merger talks on Wednesday amid mounting scrutiny of vaping and e-cigarettes. Shares of Philip Morris gained as much as 7% on the news, while Altria fell 0.54%.

Within the S&P 500, these were the largest gainers:

• Marathon Petroleum: 8.4%
• Cintas: 5.7%
• Philip Morris: 5.2%

And the largest decliners:

• SBA Communications: (-3.4%)
• Cimarex Energy: (-2.7%)
• Humana: (-2.6%)

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