US STOCKS-Wall St rebounds as U.S.-China trade rhetoric cools

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* Tech stocks lead S&P 500, Nasdaq higher
* Boeing provides biggest lift to the Dow
* Uber, Lyft shift out of reverse
* Chipmakers bounce back
* Indexes up: Dow 1.31%, S&P 1.29%, Nasdaq 1.50%

(Updates to late afternoon, adds dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, May 14 (Reuters) - Technology stocks led the S&P
500 and the Nasdaq higher on Tuesday, with U.S. stocks
reclaiming ground lost to Monday's steep sell-off as investors
took heart from a tonal shift in ongoing U.S. trade negotiations
with China.
All three major U.S. indexes were in the black, recovering
some ground from their worst one-day percentage losses in
months. The bellwether S&P 500 was hovering more than 3% below
its most recent all-time high reached two weeks ago.
Investors' nerves were calmed after U.S. President Donald
Trump referred to the escalating trade war with China as "a
little squabble," adding that "we have a good dialogue going."
Beijing echoed that sentiment, with a Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesman telling reporters: "My understanding is that
China and the United States have agreed to continue pursuing
relevant discussions."
"Either this is a bargain-hunting rally or a dead cat
bounce, or there is some consensus that something meaningful is
going to come out of the trade talks in the next four to six
weeks," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth
Management in Birmingham, Alabama.
But Hellwig also feels the rollercoaster of the escalating
trade war has had an effect on investor psychology.
"I'm starting to see some investors becoming anesthetized on
the negotiations and focusing on what the market's going to look
like a year from now," Hellwig added.
Boeing Co BA.N provided the biggest boost to the Dow,
rising 2.1% as tariff-sensitive industrials buoyed the blue chip
index.
Ralph Lauren Corp RL.N dropped 3.8% after the apparel
company posted quarterly results.
Uber Technologies UBER.N and ride-hailing peer Lyft Inc
LYFT.O were both trading higher, reversing course after their
post-debut slides. Their stocks were up 1.7% and
5.5%, respectively.
Walt Disney Co DIS.N announced it would take control of
Comcast Corp's CMCSA.O Hulu in a move to challenge Netflix
NFLX.O and others in the global video streaming war.

Disney stock climbed 2.0%, while Comcast gained 2.4%.
Netflix shares were up slightly.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 344.71 points,
or 1.36%, to 25,669.7, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 39.29 points,
or 1.40%, to 2,851.16 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
124.25 points, or 1.62%, to 7,771.27.
Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, all but utilities
.SPLRCU were in the black. Technology stocks had the largest
percentage gains, climbing 2.1%.
Chipmakers enjoyed a reprieve, with the Philadelphia SE
Semiconductor Index rising 2.7% after suffering its worst
one-day percentage loss since Jan 3.
First quarter earnings season is winding down, with 453 of
S&P 500 companies having reported, 75.3% of which beat analyst
expectations, slightly below the 76% beat rate for the last four
quarters.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
3.70-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.74-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 23 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 41 new highs and 79 new lows.