US STOCKS-Wall St higher on trade optimism, upbeat economic data

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* Trump says trade deal "potentially very close"
* China's Xi says wants to work out an agreement
* Nordstrom jumps on 2019 forecast raise
* Tesla drops after unveiling electric pickup truck
* Indexes up: Dow 0.33%, S&P 0.21%, Nasdaq 0.13%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Arjun Panchadar
Nov 22 (Reuters) - Wall Street rose on Friday as upbeat
domestic economic data and positive comments from Washington and
Beijing calmed investor worries about a delay in a potential
trade deal, which had pushed U.S. stocks off record highs
earlier in the week.
Trump told Fox News a trade deal was "potentially very
close", adding to optimism following remarks by President Xi
Jinping that Beijing wanted to work out an initial agreement.
Reports earlier in the week had indicated a truce could be
delayed to 2020. Global stocks have retreated from near two-year highs scaled
in recent weeks on hopes of a resolution to the damaging tariff
war. MKTS/GLOB
"Deal means actual hard facts and so even if people meet and
get together and talk a little bit more, we don't see anything
substantial happening," said Jeanette Garretty, managing
director and principal at Robertson Stephens Wealth Management
in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, latest economic data underscored a resilient
domestic economy. U.S. manufacturing output accelerated in
November to its fastest pace in seven months and services
activity picked up more than expected. The benchmark S&P 500 index was on course to snap its
six-week winning streak, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is set for
its first weekly drop in eight weeks. A largely
better-than-expected third-quarter corporate earnings season has
also contributed to the recent rally.
Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading higher,
led by a 0.65% gain in financials .SPSY .
At 1:11 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 92.51 points, or 0.33%, at 27,858.80, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 6.39 points, or 0.21%, at 3,109.93 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 11.09 points, or 0.13%, at 8,517.30.
A report on Friday said a hedge fund founded by billionaire
Ray Dalio has bet more than $1 billion that stock markets around
the world will fall by March, which Dalio denied. Among stocks, Nordstrom Inc JWN.N jumped 9% after the
retailer raised its 2019 forecast and reported third-quarter
profit above expectations. Shares of Tesla Inc TSLA.O fell 5.6% as the design of its
newly unveiled electric pickup truck received an underwhelming
response. Intuit Inc INTU.O dropped 4.9% after the income-tax filing
software maker forecast second-quarter profit below estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.77-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.50-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 17 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 45 new highs and 58 new lows.