NEW YORK, Dec 13 — Wall Street stocks finished higher yesterday due to improved hopes for the US-China trade talks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6 per cent at 24,527.27.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.5 per cent to 2,651.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.0 per cent to 7,098.31.

Wall Street stocks have been volatile in recent weeks in part due to unpredictable and ambiguous events connected to the Beijing-Washington trade negotiations. 

The latest indicators have been more upbeat, with a Chinese Huawei executive granted bail in a Canadian court in a closely-watched legal case and confirmation from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a television interview that Beijing had offered to cut tariffs on autos imported from the United States and resume soybean purchases.

Unlike the last two sessions, there were no major gyrations lower yesterday. But stocks still finished well below their session highs, with the Dow falling about 300 points from its peak in the last three hours of trading.

Gainers included some equities that have been seen as vulnerable to a trade war with China. Boeing advanced 1.5 per cent, Caterpillar 1.7 per cent and Deere 0.8 per cent.

Tech shares were also upward-bound, with Google parent Alphabet winning 1.1 per cent, Amazon 1.2 per cent and Netflix 3.6 per cent.

Tencent Music, in its first session after going public, jumped 7.7 per cent a day after the music streaming company raised US$1.1 billion (RM4.6 billion) in an initial public offering. — AFP