Stocks edge higher on Wall Street ahead of tariff deadline

NEW YORK – Stocks edged higher on Wall Street in midday trading Tuesday as investors considered reports that the U.S. will delay a new round of tariffs on Chinese goods as the nations continue negotiating a trade deal.

The proposed tariffs scheduled to begin on Sunday threaten to hit U.S. consumers particularly hard by raising the prices of popular products including cellphones and laptops.

Both nations have been working toward a “phase 1” deal that Wall Street hopes can lead to an eventual long-term resolution.

Technology companies were the biggest gainers. Micron rose 1.9% and Nvidia climbed 1.5%. The sector is particularly sensitive to trade as many of the companies rely on China for sales and supply chains.

Energy and health care stocks also rose.

Several communications companies slipped. Comcast fell 2% and Netflix fell 1.3%.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index rose less than 0.1% as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6 points to 27,852. The Nasdaq rose 0.2%. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks rose 0.2%.

European markets fell and Asian markets were mixed.

TRADE WOES: It’s been a volatile month so far for trade relations as the U.S. and China stay mostly quiet on their latest push for a deal. China helped ease some of the tension last week when it made the conciliatory gesture of planning to waive tariffs on American soybeans and pork, which have been hurting American farmers.

Wall Street was rattled early last week when President Donald Trump said that a deal could possibly wait until after the 2020 elections. The longstanding trade war has been hanging over U.S. businesses and prompting them to hold back on spending and other investments. It also continues to threaten economic growth, which is being propped up by consumer spending and a strong jobs market.

ANALYSTS’ TAKE: Markets tend to react quickly to developments in the trade war, but much of the day-to-day shifts won’t have much actual long-term impact for Wall Street, said David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Funds.

“The real issue is not the exact details or timing, but the durability,” he said. “Multiple changes of direction on trade over the last few years means nobody can trust that what we’re headed for here is a durable peace, rather it is a fragile cease-fire.”

LATE EARNINGS LIFT: Earnings season is essentially over but several smaller companies are getting a lift from late reports. Vail Resorts rose 2% after the ski resort company’s fiscal first-quarter results beat forecasts. Online clothing styling service Stitch Fix surged 8.5% and auto parts retailer AutoZone rose 7.1% after reporting surprisingly good results.