US STOCKS-Wall St rises with trade optimism, upbeat economic data

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* Trump says deal "potentially very close", Xi comments
positive
* Nordstrom jumps on 2019 forecast raise, Gap rises after
report
* Tesla drops after unveiling electric pickup truck
* Indexes up: Dow 0.43%, S&P 0.19%, Nasdaq 0.05%

(Updates to late afternoon, adds commentary, NEW YORK dateline,
changes byline)
By Sinéad Carew
Nov 22 (Reuters) - Wall Street rose on Friday with help from
positive comments from Washington and Beijing about progress on
efforts to reach a U.S.-China trade deal ,and from upbeat
domestic economic data.
U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News a trade deal was
"potentially very close" following remarks by President Xi
Jinping that Beijing wanted to work out an initial agreement.
The S&P 500 and the Dow were on track for their biggest
daily gains in a lackluster week marked by uncertainty about
trade. In previous days, one report suggested the delay of a
trade truce to 2020, while U.S. lawmakers backed two bills
backing protesters in Hong Kong.
"It's tied back to the on-again, off-again narrative that's
been the consistent theme regarding a potential trade deal with
China. Our President says we're on today so the market's
responding accordingly," said Mike Loewengart, vice president
for investment strategy at E*Trade Financial Corp in New York.
But investors were also showing skepticism as the Hong Kong
situation added complexity, he said.
Meanwhile, the latest economic data underscored a resilient
domestic economy as U.S. manufacturing output accelerated in
November to its fastest pace in seven months and services
activity picked up more than expected. But 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.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 119.98 points,
or 0.43%, to 27,886.27, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 6.03 points,
or 0.19%, to 3,109.57 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
4.11 points, or 0.05%, to 8,510.32.
Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading higher,
led by a 0.68% gain in financials .SPSY .
Nordstrom Inc JWN.N jumped 10.2% after the retailer raised
its 2019 forecast and reported third-quarter profit above
expectations. Gap Inc GPS.N shares were up 4.5%
after it beat lowered quarterly profit estimates days after the
retailer cut its annual forecast and replaced its longtime chief
executive officer. Shares of Tesla Inc TSLA.O fell 6.3% as Wall Street
questioned the look of its newly unveiled electric pickup truck,
whose "armored glass" windows shattered in a demonstration.
Intuit Inc INTU.O dropped 5.7% after the income-tax filing
software maker forecast second-quarter profit below estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.69-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.47-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 17 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 49 new highs and 73 new lows.