US STOCKS-Trade optimism pushes Wall Street higher

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* Smucker falls as forecast cut, earnings disappoint
* J&J jumps after opioid lawsuit decision
* Indexes up: Dow 0.43%, S&P 500 0.51%, Nasdaq 0.63%

(Updates to open)
By Akanksha Rana
Aug 27 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose for the
second straight session on Tuesday, supported by broad-based
gains as investors pinned their hopes on a resolution to the
protracted U.S.-China trade dispute despite mixed signals from
both sides.
U.S. stocks closed up more than 1% on Monday after U.S.
President Donald Trump sought to ease tensions by predicting
another round of talks with Beijing. China's foreign ministry,
however, reiterated on Tuesday that it had not received any
recent telephone call from the United States on trade.
Global stock markets also took comfort from data showing
China's industrial companies returned to profit in July and a
rally in European stocks. MKTS/GLOB
An escalation in the trade tensions between Washington and
Beijing has hit financial markets in the recent days after both
sides threatened to slap tariffs on each other's goods worth
billions of dollars.
"It's (sentiment) still largely about trade and prospects of
a deal with China and the markets are driven more by hope than
anything else at this point," said Scott Brown, chief economist
at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Technology stocks .SPLRCT , among those most vulnerable to
the trade war, gained 0.6%, while a rise in Johnson & Johnson
JNJ.N pushed the healthcare sector .SPXHC 0.8% higher.
Shares in the drugmaker rose 3% after an Oklahoma judge said
J&J must pay $572.1 million for its part in fueling the U.S.
opioid epidemic, a sum that was substantially less than what
investors had expected. Wall Street has been fretting over a deepening trade row
hurting corporate profits and global growth, and the lack of
clarity on the pace of U.S. interest rate cuts have only added
to the woes.
With the next Federal Reserve meeting scheduled next month,
investors are gauging the strength of the U.S. economy for clues
on where rates are headed.
Further buoying sentiment was data from the Commerce
Department which showed the consumer confidence index rising
135.1 points, beating growth estimates in the month of August.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 111.21 points,
or 0.43%, to 26,010.04, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 14.73 points,
or 0.51%, to 2,893.11 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
49.46 points, or 0.63%, to 7,903.20.
Among other stocks, Philip Morris International Inc PM.N
fell 5.7%, to the bottom of the S&P 500, after the tobacco maker
said it was in talks with peer Altria Group Inc MO.N to
combine in an all-stock merger of equals. Altria's shares jumped
8.6%.
Shares in J. M. Smucker Co SJM.N slid 9.1% after the
packaged food maker cut its full-year earnings forecast and
missed estimates for quarterly profit and sales. Papa John's International Inc's PZZA.O shares gained 6.2%
after the pizza chain named Arby's Restaurant Group Inc
President Rob Lynch as its chief executive officer. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 2.66-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.79-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 22 new 52-week highs and five new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 31 new highs and 50 new lows.