Stocks up as investors hope for trade progress

Stocks climbed again Friday as investors waited for President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China to meet and discuss trade, a meeting they hope will start to resolve the nations’ trade dispute. The U.S. market jumped this week after falling to a six-month low the week before.

Technology and health care companies made the largest gains Friday. Energy companies slipped as U.S. crude oil fell again, and brief ly traded under $50 a barrel. The price of crude oil dropped 22 percent in November, its worst month in a decade.

The rally this week helped the market finish with a modest gain in November, but the S&P 500 is still 5.8 percent away from the all-time high it set in late September. Among other issues, that drop reflects investors’ pessimism that the U.S. and China will resolve their differences without causing damage to the global economy. They have been sparring for months over issues including China’s technology policy.

“The outlook for the global economy in 2019 does depend on some peace in the trade dispute between the U.S. and China,” said David Kelly, chief global strategist for Jpmorgan Funds. He said global stocks will probably jump if the two leaders announce the framework of a deal and fall if they don’t. In any case, he thinks the two sides will reach an agreement by early 2019.

“Nobody’s got much to gain from fighting a trade war, but we both are threatened with recession,” he said.

The S&P 500 index gained 22.40 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,760.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 199.62 points, or 0.8 percent, to 25,538.46. The Nasdaq composite jumped 57.45 points, or 0.8 percent, to 7,330.54. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 7.88 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,533.27.

The U.S. has announced tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports so far, with the tax rate on many products set to rise Jan. 1, while China put new taxes on $110 billion in U.S. goods. Investors are concerned that the lingering dispute will keep businesses from spending money.