US STOCKS-Trade hopes boost Wall Street; tech shares lead gains

* 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 0.14%, S&P 500 0.62%, Nasdaq 0.84%

(Updates to late afternoon, changes byline, adds NEW YORK to
dateline)
By April Joyner
NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The benchmark S&P 500 stock
index rose within striking distance of a record high on Monday
as further signs of progress toward a resolution of the trade
dispute between the United States and China helped boost shares
in trade-exposed and economically sensitive sectors.
U.S. President Donald Trump continued to strike optimistic
tones on Monday, while White House adviser Larry Kudlow said
U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods scheduled for December could be
withdrawn if talks go well. "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.
Trade-sensitive technology stocks .SPLRCT , which rose 1%,
added the most gains to the S&P 500. Shares of semiconductor
companies, which derive much of their revenue from China,
especially climbed. The Phialdelphia SE Semiconductor Index
advanced 1.6%.
The economically sensitive energy .SPNY and financial
.SPSY sectors led percentage gains on the S&P 500. Energy
shares gained 1.8% while financials rose 1.4%.
Along with the subsiding of trade tensions, the steepening
U.S. Treasury yield curve as well as better-than-expected
corporate earnings thus far have benefited stocks, said Mona
Mahajan, U.S. investment strategist at Allianz Global Investors
in New York. In Monday's trading, the S&P 500 rose above the
3000 level to come within 0.7% of its record closing high.
"We're watching for a breakout to the upside of that range,"
she said. "Thus far, the early signs we're seeing are
favorable."
However, losses in shares of Boeing Co BA.N capped gains
in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Boeing shares shed 4.2% as
several brokerages downgraded their ratings on 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 rose 38.09 points,
or 0.14%, to 26,808.29, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 18.61 points,
or 0.62%, to 3,004.81 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
68.01 points, or 0.84%, to 8,157.55.
The earnings lineup 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 .
According to data from Refinitiv, 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.
Halliburton Co HAL.N shares gained 5.4% after the oilfield
services provider detailed plans of further cost reductions.
Coty Inc COTY.N shares surged 13.6% after the cosmetics
maker said it was planning to sell its professional beauty
business that houses brands such as Wella and OPI. U.S.-listed shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd
TEVA.N TEVA.TA jumped 8.1% after the company announced it
had made progress toward settling remaining opioid-related
litigation. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
2.07-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.29-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 39 new 52-week highs and two new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 89 new highs and 56 new lows.