Investing.com - The Dow closed higher Tuesday as investor concerns over trade appeared to ease after U.S. economic advisor Larry Kudlow offered some hope of a deal with China.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 0.44%. The S&P 500 rose 0.33%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.01%.
Wall Street rebounded from a selloff early Tuesday as Kudlow said President Donald Trump believes there is "a good possibility" that a trade deal can be made with China, but stressed that Beijing would have to meet "certain conditions" on trade.
China's response to Trump’s demands so far has been "disappointing" and "unsatisfactory," Kudlow added.
Uncertainty over a possible trade deal weighed on trade-sensitive corners of the market as materials fell more than 1%, led by DowDuPont (NYSE:DWDP), crop nutrient miner Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) and fertilizer distributor CF Industries (NYSE:CF).
Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Monday that it was "highly unlikely" the U.S. would delay increasing tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25% from 10%, denting hopes that a meeting between Trump and China President Xi Jinping at the upcoming G20 meeting would lead to a trade deal.
A gain in Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) supported tech, pushing the broader market higher, after the streaming giant announced plans to venture further into kids content, clinching a new deal to animate popular Roald Dahl books.
The communication services sector, which includes three out of the four FANG stocks, rose 0.6%.
Energy stocks kept a lid on gains in the broader market, however, pressured by stagnant oil prices as traders continued to weigh up reports of record Saudi output against the prospect of major oil producers agreeing to cut output at an OPEC meeting next week.
In a sign of skittish sentiment on stocks, investors turned to defensive sectors of the market, pushing utilities and consumer staples 1% higher.
On the economic front, consumer confidence undershot economists' expectations in November, but still remained close to record highs.
In corporate news, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) surged 5% after the drugmaker said its combo therapy yielded a 10% improvement in lung function in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis, compared to those treated with placebo.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), meanwhile, pared some early losses after denying a report that sales in China last month had plunged 70% compared to a year earlier.
Top S&P 500 Gainers and Losers Today:
Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) were among the top S&P 500 gainers for the session.
Aptiv (NYSE:APTV), United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.