US STOCKS-Wall St hits fresh record high on trade progress

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* Qualcomm top boost to S&P, Nasdaq on upbeat forecast
* Trade-sensitive chipmakers, industrials rise
* Ralph Lauren jumps on profit beat
* Roku plunges after wider loss
* Indexes up: Dow 0.74%, S&P 0.56%, Nasdaq 0.68%

(Updates to open)
By Arjun Panchadar
Nov 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes hit fresh
record highs on Thursday, rallying on signs of progress in
U.S.-China trade relations and another batch of largely upbeat
earnings reports.
The benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX is eyeing its fifth
straight week of gains, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC is
on track to rise for a sixth week in a row.
China said on Thursday that it had agreed with the United
States to remove tariffs in phases, while the state-owned Xinhua
News Agency said Beijing was also considering removing
restrictions on poultry imports. "This is fuelling optimism that a trade deal will be
solidified at some point," said Andre Bakhos, managing director
at New Vines Capital LLC in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
"It removes a veil of uncertainty and gives the market a
green light for a risk-on path."
Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, with a
rise in oil prices driving a 1.2% gain in the energy sector
.SPNY and taking it to the top of the heap.
The technology sector .SPLRCT provided the biggest boost
to the S&P 500 index, riding on a 7.5% jump in Qualcomm Inc
shares QCOM.O after the chipmaker forecast current-quarter
profit above analysts' estimates. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX also jumped 1.5%
as chipmakers, which have a sizeable exposure to China, rose.
Nearly three-quarters of the 383 S&P 500 companies that have
reported results so far have beaten profit expectations,
according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
At 9:49 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 202.26 points, or 0.74%, at 27,694.82, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 17.13 points, or 0.56%, at 3,093.91 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 57.50 points, or 0.68%, at 8,468.13.
Ralph Lauren Corp RL.N jumped 14% after it topped
second-quarter profit expectations, helped by tighter control on
expenses and strong demand for its Polo shirts and tweed jackets
in China and Europe. Expedia Group Inc EXPE.O tumbled 22.5% as the online
travel booking company missed quarterly profit estimates.
Roku Inc ROKU.O plunged 16.6% after posting a wider net
loss in the third quarter, as it spent more to attract
subscribers to its video streaming platform. Twitter Inc TWTR.N fell 2.3% after Evercore ISI downgraded
the stock to "underperform" from "in-line". Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.14-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 2.40-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 45 new 52-week highs and three new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 81 new highs and 30 new lows.