US STOCKS-Wall Street hits record high as trade hopes rise

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* Trump says U.S. 'very close' to trade deal with China
* U.S. offers to cancel new round of China tariffs - WSJ
* Ten of 11 major S&P 500 sectors trading higher
* Indexes up: Dow 0.67%, S&P 500 0.64%, Nasdaq 0.43%

(Updates price action)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
Dec 12 (Reuters) - Wall Street hit record levels on Thursday
after President Donald Trump tweeted that the United States was
"very close" to a trade deal with China and on a report that
U.S. trade negotiators had offered to cancel a fresh round of
tariffs on Chinese goods.
The three main indexes opened lower but quickly gained
ground after Trump's statement, which comes just days before the
tariffs go into effect on Dec. 15. The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. negotiators have
offered to slash existing tariffs by as much as half on roughly
$360 billion of Chinese-made goods, supporting the bounce.

"What Trump is saying and what China is responding to would
suggest that maybe we are more at a status quo level of a
detente than at further deterioration in relationships," said
Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird.
"We want to see evidence that things aren't deteriorating
and if tariffs are getting delayed or rolled back, that's
evidence."
The record run recently has been supported by three rate
cuts this year, a calmer tone on trade and some relief in
corporate earnings. The S&P 500 index .SPX is now up more than
26% so far this year. However, investors are particularly sensitive about
potential end-of-year weakness after the final month of 2018 was
the worst December on Wall Street since the Great Depression.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady on Wednesday
and signaled borrowing costs will not change anytime soon, with
moderate economic growth and historically low unemployment
expected to persist through the 2020 presidential election.
Of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, all but defensive real
estate stocks .SPLRCR were trading higher, suggesting a bigger
appetite for risk.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 186.50
points, or 0.67%, at 28,097.80, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 20.20
points, or 0.64%, at 3,161.83 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
was up 37.21 points, or 0.43%, at 8,691.26.
Starbucks Corp SBUX.O rose 2% after J.P. Morgan raised its
rating on the coffee chain to "overweight".
General Electric GE.N climbed 3.8% after UBS upgraded the
industrial conglomerate's shares to "buy".
Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N jumped 4% as the
carrier forecast increase in profit and revenue in 2020.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.95-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.92-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 77 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 161 new highs and 43 new lows.