Investing.com - Stocks ended higher Thursday as upbeat earnings helped offset fresh U.S.-China trade jitters after Beijing threatened to retaliate against President Donald Trump's decision to ban U.S. companies from using Huawei technology.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.84%, the S&P 500 added 0.89%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.97%.
While the U.S.-China trade war has dominated market direction over the past few days, better-than-expected corporate earnings took the spotlight Thursday, serving as a reminder that some corners of the economy remain robust.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) reported first-quarter results that beat the consensus from Investing.com on the bottom line thanks to better-than-expected same-store sales in the U.S. Shares rose 1.4%.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) also delivered better-than-expected quarterly results and upbeat revenue guidance, sending its shares up nearly 6.7%. Cisco was the top-performing stock in the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100 Index Nasdaq 100. The last rose 1% on the day.
The sunny day for Cisco, however, failed to prevent a slump in the chip sector in the wake of Trump's executive order against Huawei products.
Following Trump's decision, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said Beijing was against countries imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and vowed to take action. The latest rise in trade tensions arrived as both nations recently have imposed tariffs on each other.
In industrials, Boeing (NYSE:BA) was up 2.36%, adding to gains from a day earlier as the aircraft maker reportedly completed a software update for its 737 Max jets. The update is seen as key step to getting its much-maligned 737 Max jetliners back into operation after global aviation authorities grounded the jets following two fatal crashes.
Boeing added that it is planning to work with the Federal Aviation Administration to schedule a certification flight.
Energy stocks also boosted the broader market on the back of a rise in oil prices as traders continued to bet on potential disruptions in global crude supplies amid growing tensions in the Middle East.
On the economic front, stronger-than-expected housing starts for April and initial jobless claims that fell by more than expected, pointing to signs of underlying strength in the economy, lifted U.S. Treasury yields, boosting shares of banking stocks.
Citigroup (NYSE:C), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) closed more than 1% higher
Top S&P 500 Gainers and Losers Today:
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Linde (NYSE:LIN) and Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) were among the top S&P 500 gainers for the session.
Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR), Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX) and Qorvo (NASDAQ:QRVO) were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.