US STOCKS-S&P 500 rises above record closing high on U.S.-China trade report

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* S&P hovers near all-time high
* Intel jumps after boosting revenue forecast
* Amazon drops on weak holiday-quarter forecast
* Charter Communications gains on upbeat quarterly results
* Indexes up: Dow 0.73%, S&P 0.52%, Nasdaq 0.72%

(Updates market action)
By Arjun Panchadar
Oct 25 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 on Friday rose above its
record closing high after a report that the United States and
China were close to finalizing parts of a trade pact.
The benchmark index closed at 3,025.86 points after touching
a record high of 3,027.98 on July 26. On Friday, the index
touched a high of 3,027.39.
Top negotiators from the two countries "made headway on
specific issues" related to trade on a phone call, according to
CNBC. Reuters reported earlier that discussions would include
China's plans to buy more U.S. farm products and the
cancellation of some U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports.
The comments rounded off a strong week for equity markets,
which were boosted by a clutch of better-than-expected
third-quarter earnings reports.
The S&P 500 was set for its best week in seven, while the
Nasdaq eyed its biggest percentage gain in eight weeks.
Intel Corp INTC.O jumped 8% and was on course for its best
day since January 2018 after issuing an upbeat forecast, helping
lift the Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX and the S&P 500
information technology sector .SPLRCT .
The chipmaker was also the biggest boost to all three major
U.S. indexes.
But shares of Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O dropped 1.3% after the
e-commerce giant forecast revenue and profit for the crucial
holiday quarter below estimates, citing fierce competition.
The wider consumer discretionary sector .SPLRCD fell 0.3%
and was one of the biggest decliners among the 11 major S&P 500
sectors.
"We've had some misses ... mostly due to trade war concerns,
but overall, it looks like we're headed for a fairly good
earnings season," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at
Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
Investors are also counting on the Federal Reserve to lower
borrowing costs for the third time this year at its policy
meeting next week after a clutch of poor economic data earlier
in October. At 11:50 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 194.92 points, or 0.73%, at 27,000.45, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 15.72 points, or 0.52%, at 3,026.01 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 59.09 points, or 0.72%, at 8,244.89.
Boeing Co BA.N dropped 1.4% after Indonesian authorities
looking into the Lion Air crash said the world's largest
planemaker failed to grasp risks in the design of cockpit
software on its 737 MAX jet. Apparel maker VF Corp VFC.N fell 6.7% after reporting
lower-than-expected second-quarter revenue, hurt by sluggish
demand for its North Face and Vans brands. Shares of Charter Communications Inc CHTR.O gained 7.6%
after the cable operator posted better-than-expected quarterly
results as it attracted more customers for its broadband
services, offsetting a drop in pay TV subscribers. The next round of earnings due next week includes Apple Inc
AAPL.O , Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , Pfizer Inc PFE.N and Merck &
Co Inc MRK.N .
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.74-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 2.02-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 38 new 52-week highs and three new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 71 new highs and 48 new lows.