As trade-war talk eases, U.S. stocks rise for 4th day, but dollar weakens

U.S. stocks edged higher pushed their winning streak to four days amid a relative cooling of protectionist rhetoric between the world’s two largest economies and optimism growth can continue. Tesla Inc. surged after Elon Musk proposed taking the company private.

The S&P 500 Index closed at the highest level since its Jan. 26 record. Gains faded in the final half hour of trading as investors moved out of rate-sensitive shares amid a rise in Treasury yields. Industrial and energy stocks paced gains. The Cboe Volatility Index slid below 11 for the first time since May. Musk’s tweet punished short sellers. Commodities advanced. Chinese stocks drove a broad rally in Asia.

The Tesla news dominated an otherwise quiet afternoon session on Wall Street, with investors speculating on how serious the chief executive is about what would be the largest leveraged buyout in history. It overshadowed a strong end phase of an earnings season that’s seen most major U.S. companies surprise to the upside. That’s pushed the S&P 500 within 20 points of a record, even as investors fret over the escalating trade war between America and China.

The gains in emerging-market equities overshadowed rising woes in Turkey, where the yield on the country’s 10-year bonds touched a record high amid a diplomatic spat with the U.S. The lira clawed its way back from a record low, only to later give up some gains.

These are the main moves in markets:

■ The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 2,858.56 as of 4 p.m. in New York.

■ The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.5 percent to the highest in a week.

■ Gold futures rose 0.1 percent to $1,218.30 an ounce.