·         Stocks rose on Friday as investors cheered potential progress in trade negotiations between China and the U.S.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 336.25 points to 24,706.35, led by gains in UnitedHealth and Home Depot. The S&P 500 climbed 1.3 percent to 2,670.71, closing out of correction territory, as the materials and industrials sectors outperformed. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1 percent to close at 7,157.23.

The major averages jumped to their highs of the day after sources told CNBC that China had offered a six-year increase in U.S. imports during recent trade talks. Bloomberg News reported on Friday that the deal would aim to reduce the annual U.S. deficit to zero by 2024.

·         European stocks closed higher on Friday after a report of progress on U.S.-China trade talks raised hopes of a breakthrough in their long-running dispute.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up more than 1.7 percent following afternoon deals, hitting its highest level since December 5. All sectors and major bourses were trading in positive territory.

For the week Europe’s blue chip stocks gained more than 2.2 percent.

·         Asia Pacific markets traded higher Monday morning as investors waited for the release of important Chinese economic data that could provide a closer look into the health of the world’s second-largest economy.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.76 percent in early trade while the Topix index rose 0.81 percent. Shares of automaker Nissan advanced more than 0.6 percent after details of former CEO Carlos Ghosn’s renewed bail request emerged.

In South Korea, the Kospi was up 0.2 percent while Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 rose more than 0.3 percent in morning trade, with most sectors seeing gains.

·         Apple (AAPL.O) rattled global markets this month when the iPhone maker cut its revenue outlook for the first time in 15 years, blaming factors like the U.S.-China trade dispute and a slowdown in the Chinese economy.

Upcoming quarterly scorecards from Intel, Texas Instruments (TXN.O) and other chipmakers, as well as Ford Motor Co (F.N), will shed light on whether Apple made a convenient excuse for its own troubles or revealed a strengthening headwind faced by global companies that rely on China for a big chunk of their sales.

“They should give us a good gauge of what is happening in China beyond smartphones because Texas Instruments is mostly industrials and autos, and Intel is PCs and servers, and they’re not being driven by the Apple smartphone situation,” said Daniel Morgan, a portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Company in Atlanta.

Texas Instruments and programmable chipmaker Xilinx (XLNX.O), both reporting on Wednesday, and Intel, reporting on Thursday, are among the S&P 500 companies most reliant on China for their revenue. Investors will listen closely to what those companies may say about how the China trade dispute and the country’s cooling economic expansion are affecting demand for their products.

 

Reference: CNBC, Reuters