US STOCKS-Wall St edges higher on stimulus efforts, trade hopes

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* China cuts interest rate for 2nd month in a row
* U.S. excludes Chinese goods from existing tariffs
* Indexes up: Dow 0.24%, S&P 0.25%, Nasdaq 0.13%

(Updates to open)
By Ambar Warrick and Medha Singh
Sept 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday as an
interest rate cut by China's central bank and signs of
co-operation on trade between the world's two largest economies
allayed concerns over global growth.
China cut its new one-year benchmark lending rate for the
second month in a row on Friday, days after the Federal Reserve
and the European Central Bank reduced borrowing costs and left
the door open for further monetary stimulus. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were set to end the week
marginally higher after a rough start, sparked by attacks on
Saudi oil facilities. Hopes of additional stimulus calmed
investor nerves later in the week, nudging the benchmark S&P 500
closer to its record high hit in July.
"The market does seem to be in a bit of a waiting pattern,
looking for indication for whether the economy will gain
strength or the alternative indication that we are going to slow
further," said Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane
Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New
Jersey.
Market participants are hopeful of a de-escalation in
U.S.-China trade tensions as the two sides lay the groundwork
for trade talks in October, following tariff concessions last
week.
On Thursday, the U.S. Trade Representative's office said
dozens more Chinese products would be excluded from existing
tariffs, including dog collars, some printed circuit boards used
in computers, certain auto parts and Christmas tree lights.
The S&P 500 healthcare index .SPXHC , which has been the
worst performing S&P sector this year, rose the most among 10 of
the 11 major sectors that were higher.
Netflix Inc NFLX.O slipped 3.5% as Evercore ISI said
recent data checks painted an uncertain picture of the streaming
service provider's international subscriber growth. Its shares weighed on the communication services .SPLRCS
sector.
Boeing Co BA.N fell 0.5% as the Federal Aviation
Administration chief said a series of steps needed to be
completed before the 737 MAX could return to service.

At 9:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 64.15 points, or 0.24%, at 27,158.94, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 7.43 points, or 0.25%, at 3,014.22. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 10.64 points, or 0.13%, at 8,193.52.
Markets are likely to become more volatile during Friday's
session due to "quadruple witching," where investors unwind
positions in futures and options contracts before their
expiration.
Chipmaker Xilinx Inc XLNX.O dropped 5.9% after Chief
Financial Officer Lorenzo Flores said he would step down,
prompting Bank of America Merrill to downgrade its stock to
"neutral".
It dragged down the wider semiconductor index .SOX , which
has been hit hard by the trade war, by 0.32%.
Roku Inc ROKU.O dropped 9.5% after Pivotal Research
started coverage of its shares with a "sell" rating.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.03-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.61-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 14 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 17 new highs and 18 new lows.