Stocks up as U.S., China plan talks

U.S. stocks jumped Thursday as China and the U.S. said they would hold their first trade discussions in months, a potential sign of progress toward ending their trade war.

China is to send a trade envoy to Washington this month in a new attempt to end the trade dispute before it causes major damage to the global economy. The two sides haven’t talked since early June. Energy and metals prices and shares of industrial companies rose. Walmart soared after reporting unusually strong growth in sales.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 22.32 points, or 0.8%, to 2,840.69. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 396.32 points, or 1.6%, to 25,558.73 as Walmart and Boeing made big gains. The Nasdaq composite rose 32.41 points, or 0.4%, to 7,806.52. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed 15.09 points, or 0.9% to 1,685.75.

Jason Draho, the head of asset allocation for UBS, said investors are eager for the United States and China to resolve their differences. He added that China may be changing course because its economy has slowed.

Walmart posted its biggest gain in more than a decade in sales at stores open at least a year, and its online revenue grew 40%, a faster pace than it reported in the first quarter. The stock jumped 9.3% to $98.64, which wiped out its losses from earlier this year.

Other retailers and consumer goods firms climbed too. Target rose 1.7% to $82.07. Procter & Gamble rose 1.7% to $83.69. McDonald’s rose 1.2% to $161.73.

J.C. Penney tumbled 27% to $1.76 after it posted a bigger loss than analysts expected and reported weaker sales. The chain also cut its forecasts for the year again. Dillard’s dropped 8.7% to $75.80 after its report.

Macy’s inched up 1.9% on Thursday to $35.81 after plunging 16% the day before.

Symantec rose 4.6% to $19.41 after activist investment firm Starboard Value disclosed an investment in the security software firm and said it plans to nominate five directors for spots on Symantec’s board.

Chipotle slid 4.4% to $502.70 after Ohio heath officials said tests tied to one of its restaurants came back positive for an illness that occurs when food is left at unsafe temperatures.

Bank stocks rallied as interest rates increased. Bond prices fell again. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.87% from 2.85%.

Oil prices were steady after diving the day before. U.S. crude rose 0.7% to $65.46 a barrel. Brent crude rose 0.9% to $71.43 a barrel.

Gold slipped 0.1% to $1,184 an ounce. Silver rose 1.8% to $14.71 an ounce. Copper climbed 2.2% to $2.62 a pound, but it’s still down about 20% since early June.