US STOCKS-Kudlow's comments on trade keep Wall Street afloat

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* High-level U.S.-China trade talks to start Thursday
* Nvidia gains as RBC raises PT, boosts Nasdaq
* Dow and S&P 500 flat, Nasdaq up 0.13%

(Updates to early afternoon, adds comments)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks erased early losses to trade
flat on Monday, as comments from White House economic adviser
Larry Kudlow calmed nerves over the outcome of this week's
high-level trade talks with China, with the Nasdaq also boosted
by chipmaker Nvidia.
It was possible that the two sides could make progress
during the talks in Washington and the United States was open to
looking at Beijing's proposals, Kudlow told reporters.

Analysts said the comments were not of much substance and
that could be holding back investors from making bigger bets.
"Investors are somewhat tired of the same song and dance
from the administration. They are not going to fully buy in
until something materializes from the meeting," said Matt
Ruffalo, senior strategist at Clarfeld Financial Advisors in New
Jersey.
Tariff concessions last month had fueled hopes of a
resolution to the prolonged dispute, but a report that Beijing
was increasingly reluctant to agree to a broad deal pursued by
President Donald Trump weighed on sentiment.
The White House officially confirmed that the high-level
negotiations would commence on Thursday.
Wall Street logged a choppy start to October on anxiety over
mixed economic indicators and intensifying efforts to impeach
Trump, but that was offset by rising bets of a third interest
rate cut this year by the Federal Reserve.
A second whistleblower has come forward with first-hand
knowledge of Trump's attempts to get the Ukrainian president to
investigate a political rival, lawyers for the official said on
Sunday. Investors will now turn to the third-quarter earnings
season, which kicks off next week with U.S. banks reporting, for
more clarity on the impact of the trade war on Corporate
America.
Analysts expect the lowest quarterly profit performance
since 2016, with S&P 500 earnings seen falling nearly 3% from a
year earlier, based on IBES data from Refinitiv.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 1.46
points, or 0.01%, at 26,572.26 and the S&P 500 .SPX was up
0.65 points, or 0.02%, at 2,952.66.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 10.23 points, or 0.13%,
at 7,992.70.
Gains in the tech-heavy index were driven by a 2.3% rise in
Nvidia Corp NVDA.O . RBC Capital Markets raised its price
target on the semiconductor maker, citing improved gaming and
data center demand.
E*Trade Financial Corp ETFC.O rose 2.3% after UBS upgraded
the online broker's shares to "buy".
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.00-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a
1.23-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded eight new 52-week highs and one new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 20 new highs and 64 new lows.