Year’s gains continue on rising hopes for trade deal

U.S. stocks jumped Friday as renewed hopes for progress in U.S.-China trade talks helped the market finish the week with another strong gain.

Indexes jumped after Bloomberg News reported that China’s government offered to buy more goods and services from the United States, potentially eliminating its trade deficit by 2024. For investors, the encouraging news on trade built on recent positive signs for the U.S. economy and indications from the Federal Reserve that it will be patient when considering future interest rate hikes.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index has risen 6.5% so far this year and the Dow Jones industrial average is up 5.9%, a surprisingly strong showing after 2018’s punishing end.

Technology and industrial companies made some of the biggest gains Friday, while banks rose after a round of solid fourth-quarter earnings reports. Oil and copper prices rose, while gold and bond prices fell — signs that traders felt more optimistic about global economic growth.

Over the last few days, investors grew steadily more hopeful that the United States and China are narrowing their differences over trade. On Wednesday the Chinese government said the top trade envoys from both countries will meet at the end of January.

The S&P 500 climbed 34.75 points, or 1.3%, to 2,670.71. The Dow jumped 336.25 points, or 1.4%, to 24,706.35. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 72.76 points, or 1%, to 7,157.23.

Stock indexes have surged since reaching a low point Christmas Eve. The S&P 500 has risen for four weeks in a row, gaining at least 1.9% each week. It climbed 2.9% this week. The last time the index rose at least 1.5% four weeks in a row was in early 2009, in the wake of the financial crisis, said LPL Financial senior market strategist Ryan Detrick.

On Friday, trucking and logistics company J.B. Hunt Transportation jumped 6.2% to $106.11 and railroad company Kansas City Southern climbed 6.1% to $110.52 after their fourthquarter reports.

Faster economic growth would mean more demand for oil, and prices climbed. U.S. crude advanced 3.3% to $53.80. Brent crude rose 2.5% to $62.70 a barrel.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.79% from 2.74%. High-dividend stocks such as utilities lagged behind the rest of the market.

Tesla sank 13% to $302.26 after the company said it would cut 7% of its jobs.

Tiffany climbed 5.3% to $89.82 even though the luxury jeweler said holiday shoppers and Chinese tourists spent less on its bling.

V.F. Corp. jumped 12.4% to $82.34 after the maker of brands including Timberland and North Face raised its forecasts following a strong quarter.

Netflix fell 4% to $339.10 after the streaming video service said its growth is slowing in the United States.

Schlumberger climbed 8.1% to $44.73 after the world’s largest oil field service company reported higher revenue than analysts expected.

Nautilus plunged 40.5% to $7.02 after the fitness equipment maker said its fourth-quarter profit and sales will fall far short of expectations.

Wholesale gasoline rose 1.6% to $1.45 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1.6% to $1.92 a gallon. Natural gas climbed 2% to $3.48 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell 0.8% to $1,282.70 an ounce. Silver fell 0.9% to $15.40 an ounce. Copper rose 1.5% to $2.72 a pound.

The dollar rose to 109.79 yen from 109.23 yen. The euro fell to $1.1370 from $1.1390.