US STOCKS-Techs boost Wall St as trade concerns ease

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* Sept consumer confidence data expected at 10:00 a.m. ET
* Trade-sensitive chip stocks gain
* Apple biggest boost to the three main indexes
* Indexes up: Dow 0.36%, S&P 0.37%, Nasdaq 0.43%

(Updates to open)
By Ambar Warrick and Medha Singh
Sept 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, lifted by
technology shares, after Washington confirmed that trade talks
with China would resume in two weeks, easing some uncertainty
fueled by the cancellation of a planned U.S. farm visit by
Chinese delegates last week.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday he and
Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would meet with Chinese
Vice Premier Liu He for talks in early October, while clarifying
that the Trump administration had requested Chinese officials to
cancel the farming trip last Friday. News of the cancellation had caused a sharp pullback in U.S.
stocks on the day.
"It's not so much that people have become positive on (trade
talks), but had taken the cancellation as a sign that the deal
was in trouble, and now the administration seems to be
suggesting that it's not," said Rick Meckler, partner, Cherry
Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New
Jersey.
"The market seems to be in a pretty tight range, while they
await some more concrete news about the China situation."
The trade-sensitive Philadelphia chip index .SOX gained
0.61%. The broader technology sector .SPLRCT rose 0.79%, with
iPhone maker Apple Inc AAPL.O providing the biggest support.
Apple gained 1.3% after Jefferies assumed coverage with a
"buy" rating, citing the company's potential in the 5G cycle.
Even as trade talks remain the primary focus, investors will
also watch out for the Conference Board's U.S. consumer
confidence reading for September that is expected to come in at
133.5, from a reading of 135.1 in August. The report is due at
10:00 a.m. ET (1400 GMT).
Data due later this week, which includes the Fed's preferred
gauge for inflation, will also offer insights into U.S. economic
health ahead of the third-quarter earnings season and the
central bank's policy meeting in October.
"Markets are in this delicate period where investors don't
want too much acceleration because they are concerned that it
will put an end to low interest rates but they also don't want
enough slowing to impact corporate profits," Cherry Lane's
Meckler said.
At 9:37 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 97.17 points, or 0.36%, at 27,047.16, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 11.12 points, or 0.37%, at 3,002.90. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 34.89 points, or 0.43%, at 8,147.35.
Ten of the 11 major S&P sub-indexes were higher, with only
the energy sector .SPNY marginally lower.
Video streaming platform Netflix Inc NFLX.O fell 2.1%
after Pivotal Research cut its price target.
Nike Inc NKE.N rose 0.3%, ahead of the world's largest
sportswear maker's first-quarter results after the bell.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.05-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.63-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 8 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 14 new highs and 16 new lows.