Stocks Ended Higher, Oil Prices Rose

U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday after Beijing indicated it wasn’t in a rush to respond to the latest round of tariffs imposed by Washington.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 326.15 points, or 1.25%, to 26,362.25. The S&P 500 climbed 36.64 points, or 1.27%, to 2,924.58. The Nasdaq Composite gained 116.51 points, or 1.48%, to 7,973.39.

Oil futures found support Thursday as Beijing moved to tamp down fears of an immediate escalation of the U.S.-China trade war. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery rose 93 cents, or 1.7%, to settle at $56.71 a barrel.October Brent crude settled at $61.08 a barrel.

The trade deficit in goods narrowed to $72.3 billion in July from $74.2 billion in the prior month, according to the Commerce Department’s advanced estimate released Thursday. The report also showed a 0.2% increase in wholesale inventories. And advanced retail inventories jumped 0.8%.