Stocks surge on encouraging signs for US-China trade talks

• Stocks rallied on Thursday after China suggested it would delay escalating the trade war with retaliatory tariffs and President Trump said negotiations are set to restart soon.
• The president said members of his administration spoke with Chinese officials on Thursday, and a White House official told Markets Insider that "both sides remain in communication at various levels."
• Gao Feng, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, said that while China has the ability to retaliate, it would prefer to prevent an escalation of the trade war.
• Visit the Markets Insider homepage for more stories.

Stocks rose on Thursday as investors digested positive developments in the US-China trade spat that allayed lingering fears of a protracted standoff.

President Donald Trump said members of his administration spoke with Chinese officials on Thursday, but did not provide any specific details. A White House official told Markets Insider that "both sides remain in communication at various levels."

China also struck a milder tone on Thursday after suggesting it could delay imposing tariffs on US products in an attempt to avoid escalating the trade war.

"China has ample means for retaliation but thinks the question that should be discussed now is about removing the new tariffs to prevent escalation of the trade war," Gao Feng, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's spokesperson, told reporters in Beijing.

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Traders have been skittish over the last week as they awaited some sort of progress toward a trade resolution and as signs of slowing growth around the world continued to emerge.

The trade developments appeared to outweigh a revised US growth reading from the Commerce Department. The agency said the US economy grew by 2% last quarter, down slightly from its initial 2.1% figure.

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

• The S&P 500 climbed 1.27%, to 2,924.58.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.25%, to 26,362.32.
• The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.48%, to 7,973.39.

Shares of Best Buy plummeted as much as 8% after the retailer missed revenue estimates for the second quarter and cut its earnings outlook for the rest of the year. The company cited increased tariffs on Chinese goods and "general uncertainty" around consumer spending as the justification for the lowered guidance.

Altria Group's stock slid as much as 5% after The Wall Street Journal reported the Federal Trade Commission is investigating Juul Labs for deceptive marketing tactics.

The investigation is centered around whether Juul's advertising campaigns targeted minors by using young people and attractive flavors. Altria has a 35% stake in Juul.

The news also comes just days after tobacco-giant Phillip Morris International confirmed it was in talks to merge with Altria more than a decade after the two companies split.

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

• Dollar General: 10.68%
• PVH Corp: 6.25%
• Marathon Petroleum: 4.85%

And the largest decliners:

• H&R Block: (-9.34%)
• Best Buy: (-8.02%)
• Altria Group: (-3.49%)

Every sector within the S&P 500 ended in positive territory on Thursday. Industrials and technology stocks led the S&P with gains of more than 1.65%. Consumer discretionary and communications rose more than 1.45%.