Stocks Opened Sharply Higher on U.S.-China Trade Hopes

U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Tuesday on renewed optimism over U.S.-China trade talks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 242.54 points, or 0.99%, to 24,665.80. The S&P 500 advanced 28.45 points, or 1.08%, to 2,666.17. The Nasdaq Composite gained 86.48 points, or 1.23%, to 7,107.00.

Oil futures moved up Tuesday as the market continues to weigh the efficacy of an OPEC-plus production cut and as a short-term production disruption in Libya proved supportive to prices. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up 52 cents, or 1%, at $51.52 a barrel. February Brent crude gained 44 cents, or 0.7%, at $60.41 a barrel.

U.S. wholesale prices barely rose last month as a sharp decline in the cost of gas offset pricier freight trucking services and mobile phone plans. The Labor Department said Tuesday that the producer price index increased 0.1 percent in November from the previous month.

China is moving toward cutting its trade-war tariffs on imported U.S.-made cars. A proposal to reduce tariffs on cars made in the U.S. to 15 percent from the current 40 percent has been submitted to China’s Cabinet to be reviewed in the coming days.