Stocks Opened Higher after Mnuchin Fueled Trade Deal Hopes

U.S. stocks opened solidly higher on Wednesday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stoked hopes of a near-term trade deal with China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 46.72 points, or 0.18%, to 26,594.94. The S&P 500 advanced 7.21 points, or 0.25%, to 2,924.59. The Nasdaq Composite rose 67.91 points, or 0.86%, to 7,952.63.

Oil prices climbed Wednesday on indications of falling U.S. crude supplies, with a key industry report due later. August West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.27, or 2.2%, to $59.09 a barrel. August Brent crude gained 90 cents, or 1.4%, to $66.05 a barrel.

On Wednesday, Mnuchin told CNBC that the U.S. and China “were about 90% of the way” to a trade agreement. He added that he was hopeful a deal could be reached by the end of the year.

An early look at U.S. trade patterns in May points to a wider-than-expected trade deficit. The advance trade deficit in goods widened 5.1% to $74.5 billion, according to the Commerce Department.

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