US STOCKS-Dow, S&P 500 hit record closes as investors digest trade news

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* China says trade deal would see tariffs removed in phases
* Qualcomm gains, helps support S&P 500
* Indexes jump: Dow 0.7%, S&P 0.3%, Nasdaq 0.3%

(Updates to close)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The Dow and S&P 500 notched
record closing highs on Thursday as the latest signs of progress
in U.S.-China trade relations relieved investors, but a report
raising fresh worries about the outlook for a deal limited the
day's gains.
China said it had agreed with the United States to remove
tariffs in phases, while state-owned Xinhua News Agency said
Beijing was also considering removing restrictions on poultry
imports. But indexes pared gains in afternoon trading after a Reuters
report, citing sources, said that the White House's plan to roll
back China tariffs faces internal opposition and that no final
decision has been made yet. An interim U.S.-China trade deal is expected to include a
U.S. pledge to scrap tariffs scheduled for Dec. 15.
"Any kind of uncertainty there, with the market at all-time
highs, and it's easy for traders and institutions to press the
sell button and take some money off the table," said Alan Lancz,
president, Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc, an investment
advisory firm, based in Toledo, Ohio.
The latest batch of earnings offered some upbeat news.
The S&P 500 technology index .SPLRCT ended up 0.7%, with
shares of Qualcomm Inc QCOM.O up 6.3% after it forecast
current-quarter profit above analysts' estimates. Together with Qualcomm, other chipmakers, which have a
sizeable exposure to China, also rose, propping the Philadelphia
Semiconductor index .SOX up 0.7%.
The trade-sensitive industrials sector .SPLRCI finished up
0.2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 182.24 points,
or 0.66%, to 27,674.8, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 8.4 points, or
0.27%, to 3,085.18 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 23.89
points, or 0.28%, to 8,434.52.
The day's gains resumed the recent record run for stocks,
which have been bolstered, along with trade deal hopes, by some
upbeat earnings.
"Corporate earnings, while down year over year, are better
than many had expected, and that's a plus," said Oliver Pursche,
chief market strategist of Bruderman Asset Management in New
York.
Also on Thursday, Ralph Lauren Corp RL.N surged 14.7%
after it topped second-quarter profit expectations, helped by a
tighter control on expenses and strong demand for its Polo
shirts and tweed jackets in China and Europe. On the down side, Expedia Group Inc EXPE.O plunged 27.4%
as the online travel booking company missed quarterly profit
estimates.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.06-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.09-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 54 new 52-week highs and five new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 118 new highs and 85 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 7.92 billion shares, compared
with the 6.83 billion-share average for the full session over
the last 20 trading days.