Stocks Rose in Early Trading on Trade

U.S. stocks traded higher in early trading on Monday on the back of easing U.S.-China trade tensions and stronger-than-expected earnings results.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately advanced 182.21 points, or 0.68%, to 27,140.27. The S&P 500 rose 18.70 points, or 0.62%, to 3,041.25. The Nasdaq Composite gained 51.28 points, or 0.62%, to 8,294.40.

Oil futures lost ground early Monday. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was off 19 cents, or 0.3%, at $56.47 a barrel. December Brent crude fell 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $61.53 a barrel.

The office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Friday that the U.S. and China were “close to finalizing” some sections of a phase one trade agreement.

The U.S. goods trade deficit fell in September as trade tensions restricted the flow of goods. The Commerce Department said on Monday the goods trade gap dropped 3.6% percent to $70.4 billion last month. Exports declined 1.6%, pulled down by plunges in shipments of foods and feeds, as well as automobiles.

Spotify Technology S.A.(SPOT) reported a surprise third-quarter profit and sales and monthly active users (MAUs) that beat expectations. The company swung to a net profit of €241 million ($267.5 million), or €0.36 a share, from a loss of €76 million, or €0.42 a share, in the year-ago period.

AT&T Inc on Monday unveiled a three-year strategic plan that included adding two new board members, selling off up to $10 billion worth of non-core businesses next year and paying off all its debt from the purchase of Time Warner, bowing to pressure from activist investor Elliott Management.