US close: Markets finish higher as investors look to December tariff deadline

US stocks finished in positive territory on Tuesday, following further conversations between officials in Washington and Beijing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 0.2% at 28,121.68, the S&P 500 added 0.22% to 3,140.52, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.18% firmer at 8,647.93.

At the open, the Dow was 27.31 points higher after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both hit record highs during the previous session.

China's Ministry of Commerce claimed overnight that vice-premier Liu He spoke with United States trade representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin over the phone on Tuesday morning, to discuss resolving several "core issues".

"Both sides discussed resolving core issues of common concern, reached consensus on how to resolve related problems [and] agreed to stay in contact over remaining issues for a phase one agreement," a statement read.

However, it was still not clear as to whether or not both sides would be able to reach a compromise before new US tariffs on Chinese goods were due to come into effect on 15 December.

On the data front, America's trade deficit in goods with the rest of the world narrowed sharply during the preceding month, but only because of a big drop in purchases from overseas.

According to a preliminary reading from the Department of Commerce, America's shortfall in its foreign trade on goods shrank by 5.7% in October to reach $66.5bn, compared to consensus expectations for a shortfall of $71.3bn.

In terms of property data, house prices in the US edged higher in September, according to the results of one of the most closely-followed gauges of home price inflation.

In non-seasonally adjusted terms, Standard & Poor's CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index advanced at a year-on-year pace of 3.1% in September, in line with a 3.1% gain in the month before.

On the same topic, sales of new US single-family homes unexpectedly fell in October, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.

New homes sales were down 0.7% from September’s revised level to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 733,000.

Analysts had been expecting a 1.1% increase to 709,000, while on the year, sales did rise 31.6%.

In corporate news, Best Buy shares finished the session 9.86% higher, after the technology retailer beat expectations and raised its guidance for the full year.

Discount merchandiser Dollar Tree saw its stock tumble 15.24% after it cut its guidance, as a result of impacts from the US-China trade war.

Dell ended the session down 3.34%, and was off 0.09% in after hours trading, as the computing group beat its third quarter earnings target but missed on revenue in results released after the closing bell.

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $87.34 1.91%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $122.26 1.45%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $151.64 1.30%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $53.90 1.28%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $136.68 1.22%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $194.01 1.10%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $220.76 1.08%
Visa Inc. (V) $182.55 0.87%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $59.89 0.86%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $152.03 0.53%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $59.63 -1.71%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $38.29 -1.01%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $264.29 -0.78%
American Express Co. (AXP) $119.79 -0.67%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $135.09 -0.65%
3M Co. (MMM) $169.23 -0.59%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $117.79 -0.50%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $281.40 -0.45%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $45.31 -0.31%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $68.74 -0.25%

S&P 500 - Risers

Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $81.57 9.86%
Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $16.47 5.11%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $815.84 3.73%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $17.99 3.63%
Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $194.26 3.57%
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $44.28 3.55%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $265.88 3.43%
Discovery Inc. Class C (DISCK) $30.98 3.37%
Discovery Inc. Class A (DISCA) $33.36 3.20%
CBRE Group Inc (CBRE) $57.88 3.14%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $95.26 -15.24%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $15.97 -8.48%
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $45.16 -5.42%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $37.97 -4.88%
McKesson Corp. (MCK) $145.80 -4.87%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $32.60 -4.26%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $14.29 -4.16%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $16.01 -4.07%
Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) $54.21 -3.80%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $60.50 -3.43%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $265.88 3.43%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $314.51 3.26%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $256.05 2.06%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $235.97 2.06%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $69.54 2.01%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $95.28 1.77%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $59.68 1.74%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $114.89 1.74%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $106.20 1.68%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $71.84 1.64%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $95.26 -15.24%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $328.92 -2.21%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $48.71 -2.11%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $121.55 -1.95%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $218.94 -1.94%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $217.00 -1.90%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $30.47 -1.90%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $34.87 -1.72%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $59.63 -1.71%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $78.51 -1.70%