US STOCKS-Wall Street gains on easing trade concerns, euro zone stimulus

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* U.S. to delay tariff hikes on Chinese imports
* ECB cuts deposit rate by 10 bps to record low
* U.S. August core consumer prices rise 0.3% vs forecast
0.2%
* Technology biggest boost on S&P 500, energy biggest drag
* Indexes up: Dow 0.18%, S&P 500 0.29%, Nasdaq 0.45%

(Updates prices, adds details)
By Uday Sampath Kumar
Sept 12 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks gained in morning trading on
Thursday after the United States delayed scheduled tariff hikes
on billions worth of Chinese imports, and the European Central
Bank launched a stimulus drive to boost the ailing euro zone
economy.
In a tweet that calmed trade tensions that have battered
financial markets over the last year, President Donald Trump
said the United States would delay increasing tariffs on $250
billion worth of Chinese imports by two weeks as "a gesture of
good will".
The decision comes after China extended an olive branch by
exempting some U.S. anti-cancer drugs and other goods from
additional tariffs ahead of planned high-level trade
negotiations. All the major indexes hit a session high on a report https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-12/trump-advisers-consider-interim-china-trade-deal-to-delay-tariffs?utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_medium=social&utm_content=business&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_source=twitter
that the Trump administration was considering an interim deal
with China, but quickly pared gains after CNBC said that a
senior White House official denied https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/12/senior-white-house-official-denies-report-us-considering-interim-china-trade-deal.html
the report.
"It's just what we should come to expect now," Paul Nolte,
portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago said
about the sporadic market movement on the contrasting reports.
"Both China and the United States are trying to reach across
the aisle ... but all they've done is kick the can further down
the road."
Trade-sensitive technology stocks provided the biggest boost
among the 11 major S&P 500 .SPX sectors. The benchmark index
rose to within 0.3% of a record high hit in July.
The ECB approved a new stimulus package on Thursday, cutting
deposit rates by 10 basis points to a record low and starting a
bond buying program. The U.S. Federal Reserve is also expected
to cut interest rates at its policy meeting next week.
The ECB "pulling the trigger" helped lift the mood on Wall
Street, but would not sway the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision
next week, said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in
St. Petersburg, Florida.
The ECB move took a toll on U.S. treasury yields across the
board, which dragged down shares of banks .SPXBK by 0.31%.
US/
Separately, data on Thursday showed U.S. underlying consumer
prices in August recorded the largest annual gain in a year,
while weekly jobless claims dropped to a five-month low. At 11:18 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 48.88 points, or 0.18%, at 27,185.92, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 8.61 points, or 0.29%, at 3,009.54 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 36.44 points, or 0.45%, at 8,206.12.
Energy stocks .SPNY fell 0.78% and were the biggest drag
on the S&P as oil prices fell after a meeting of the OPEC+
alliance yielded no decision on deepening supply cuts. O/R
Among industrial stocks, Deere & Co DE.N and Caterpillar
Inc CAT.N dropped after Wells Fargo downgraded their shares to
"market perform".
Baker Hughes BHGE.N fell 1.59% after General Electric Co
GE.N began divesting its stake in the oilfield services
provider, aiming to raise $2.7 billion. Activision Blizzard Inc ATVI.O rose 2.39% after two
brokerages raised their price targets on the stock.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.10-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a
1.07-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 33 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 57 new highs and 18 new lows.