US STOCKS-U.S. stocks gain on upbeat earnings, geopolitical news

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* Britain, EU reach Brexit deal, awaits parliament approval
* Netflix jumps on better-than-expected subscriber adds
* Morgan Stanley caps big bank earnings with profit beat
* IBM falls after revenue miss, weighs on Dow
* Indexes up: Dow 0.09%, S&P 500 0.28%, Nasdaq 0.4%

(Updates to market close)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street advanced on
Thursday as investor sentiment was buoyed by a string of
corporate earnings beats and encouraging geopolitical
developments.
A broad-based rally led all three major U.S. stock averages
to moderate gains.
Britain and the European Union agreed to a severance deal,
moving closer toward wrapping up three years of uncertainties
after Britons voted to leave the bloc. Upbeat statements from Beijing and Washington fueled hopes
that a phased agreement could ease the long-running U.S.-China
trade war that has rattled markets for months. And Turkey agreed to pause its Syria assault to allow for
the withdrawal of Kurdish forces. "The Turkish cease fire is viewed positively," said Stephen
Massocca, senior vice president at Wedbush Securities in San
Francisco. "Good news for Trump is good news for the market."
"From an investment perspective, the market likes the Trump
agenda," Massocca added.
Analysts now see third-quarter S&P 500 earnings falling by
2.9%, according to Refinitiv I/B/E/S, marking the first
contraction since the earnings recession that ended mid-2016.
But of the 63 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported so
far, 82.5% have come in above estimates.
"(Results have) been good, but we haven't really gotten
enough data points yet to see how earnings will be versus
expectations," Massocca said. "Bring on Google, bring on Amazon,
bring on Facebook, bring on Deere."
Morgan Stanley MS.N rounded out big bank earnings with
better-than-expected third-quarter profits, driven by bond
trading and M&A advisory strength, sending its shares up 1.5%.
Streaming pioneer Netflix Inc NFLX.O advanced 2.5% after
the company reported a rebound in subscribers in the third
quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 24.18 points,
or 0.09%, to 27,026.16, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 8.28 points,
or 0.28%, to 2,997.97 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
32.67 points, or 0.4%, to 8,156.85.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, all but technology
.SPLRCT closed in the black, with healthcare .SPXHC , real
estate .SPLRCR and communications services .SPLRCL enjoying
the largest percentage gains.
In other earnings news, shares of International Business
Machines Corp were the biggest drag on the blue-chip Dow,
sinking 5.5% after missing quarterly revenue estimates.
Honeywell International Inc's HON.N quarterly results fell
short of analyst expectations, but positive geopolitical
developments helped the international conglomerate gain 2.4%.
On the economic front, a spate of underwhelming data
supported the notion that the longest period of expansion is
U.S. history could be running out of steam. Housing starts,
industrial production and mid-Atlantic factory output all fell
short of economist expectations. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
2.10-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.90-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 36 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 60 new highs and 60 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 6.01 billion shares, compared
with the 6.79 billion average over the last 20 trading days.