US STOCKS-Tech stocks drive gains on Wall Street; Boeing weighs on Dow

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* Boeing extends fall after brokerages downgrade
* Coty jumps on plan to sell professional beauty business
* Chipmakers, tech stocks rise on trade hopes
* Indexes up: Dow 0.19%, S&P 500 0.63%, Nasdaq 0.90%

(Updates to early afternoon, adds comments)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
Oct 21 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes rose on
Monday as technology stocks were bolstered by signs of progress
in resolving the prolonged U.S.-China trade dispute, while
losses in Boeing capped gains in the blue-chip Dow Jones
Industrials.
White House adviser Larry Kudlow said tariffs scheduled for
December could be withdrawn if talks go well, adding to optimism
after China said it will work with the United States to address
each other's core concerns. Trade-sensitive technology stocks .SPLRCT gained 1%, while
the China-exposed semiconductor stocks helped the Philadelphia
chip index .SOX climb 1.8%.
"It is a bit more confirmation from China as to what was
agreed with the U.S. in discussions towards the stage one trade
deal" said Jon Adams, investment strategist at BMO Global Asset
Management.
A 1.3% gain in financial stocks .SPSY also propped up the
S&P 500 .SPX after largely upbeat results from big banks last
week kicked off the third-quarter earnings season on a strong
note.
"This is the appropriate time in the cycle for that shift
from growth to value oriented stocks to happen," said Everett
Millman, precious metals specialist at Gainesville Coins in
Lutz, Florida.
"I was impressed with the financials because they aren't
supposed to do well in a low interest rate environment."
Signs of progress in trade talks have helped Wall Street
recover from a rough start to the month. The benchmark S&P 500
index ended Friday with its second weekly gain, while the Nasdaq
rose for a third straight week.
Shares of Boeing Co BA.N shed 3.1%, extending losses from
the previous session, as multiple brokerages downgraded the
stock following reports that call into question the timing of
the 737 MAX jet's return to service. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 52.03 points,
or 0.19%, at 26,822.23, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 18.70 points,
or 0.63%, at 3,004.90 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up
73.06 points, or 0.90%, at 8,162.61.
The earnings line up for this week includes high-profile
companies such as Boeing, Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Procter &
Gamble Co PG.N , United Parcel Service Inc UPS.N and
Caterpillar Inc CAT.N .
Analysts have projected the first earnings contraction since
2016 for S&P 500 companies, but of the 75 companies that have
reported results so far, only 12% have come in below estimates,
according to Refinitiv data.
Halliburton Co HAL.N gained 7.8% after the oilfield
services provider detailed plans of further cost reductions.
Coty Inc COTY.N surged 14.1% after the cosmetics maker
said it was planning to sell its professional beauty business
that houses brands such as Wella and OPI. Cardinal Health Inc CAH.N , McKesson Corp MCK.N and
AmerisourceBergen Corp ABC.N led declines on the benchmark
index.
The drug distributors, along with Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries TEVA.TA , reached a settlement with two Ohio
counties related to the opioid crisis. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.43-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 2.62-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 38 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 85 new highs and 49 new lows.