Stocks gain as tariff fears ease

U.S. stocks rose for a third day as White House officials signaled that the president’s tough talk on trade won’t lead to growth-sapping tariffs. Treasuries fell and the dollar gained.

The S&P 500 Index closed at the highest level in more than two weeks as investors grew more confident the administration’s protectionist rhetoric wouldn’t result in equally stringent policy. The dollar strengthened for the third time this week, while the 10-year Treasury yield popped above 2.83 percent ahead of Friday’s payroll numbers.

“After the initial introduction of trade tensions and the back and forth between the U.S. and China and consternation around Nafta, the markets are now beginning to see through the bluster of negotiations and they’re dialing back some of their most significant fears of a full on trade war,” Kevin Caron, a senior portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors, said by phone.

Stocks regained a measure of poise after representatives from the U.S. and China left the door open for a negotiated solution to avoid tariff proposals that aren’t set to take effect for several months. Federal Reserve officials said it’s premature to fully assess the impact of the trade dispute, which is adding uncertainty to an otherwise bright economic outlook ahead of the jobs report.

Meanwhile, Facebook Inc. climbed as traders took in stride a company disclosure that data on most of its 2 billion users could have been harvested improperly by third parties. Investors are cautiously returning to technology shares after a selloff last month gave momentum to a global equity correction.

Elsewhere, oil gained and Bitcoin held below $7,000. European equities caught up to the American rebound, surging the most in two months as every sector rallied. The pound fell after purchasing managers’ data for February disappointed.