US close: Stocks close higher as trade deal said to be closer than thought

US stocks closed higher on Wednesday as reports circulated that a trade deal between the US and China could be closer than previously thought.

At the close, the Dow Jones Jones Industrial was up 0.53% at 27,649.78, while the S&P 500 was ahead 0.64% at 3,112.88 and the Nasdaq Composite traded 0.54% firmer at 8,566.67.

The Dow closed 146.97 points higher on Wednesday after closing lower during the previous session after Donald Trump said ahead of Nato's 70th-anniversary event, in London, that a trade deal might be postponed.

However, indices turned positive after Bloomberg reported that the US and China were moving closer to agreeing on the amount of tariffs that will be rolled back in their so-called "phase one" trade deal.

Oanda's Craig Elam said: "Stock markets are back in the green on Wednesday, following a woeful start to the week which came as Donald Trump cast doubts on a pre-election trade deal with China.

"It still baffles me that investors hang on every Trump statement and tweet. His trade deal optimism changes on a near-daily basis and yet, investors are very sensitive to it. It's probably a reflection of the relative lack of other talking points."

Traders also kept an eye on meetings between Donald Trump and other NATO leaders in London after France and the European Union promised to retaliate against potential US tariffs on French goods.

Washington's decision came shortly after France introduced a digital services tax, which the US claimed treated US tech firms "unfairly". The UK also has plans to impose digital taxes. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross also said the Trump administration had not ruled out imposing tariffs on imported European cars.

On the data front, private-sector employment in the US rose by less than expected in November, according to figures released by ADP on Wednesday.

Employers added 67,000 jobs last month versus expectations of a 140,000 increase. Meanwhile, the October jobs tally was revised down to 121,000 from 125,000.

Elsewhere, the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing purchasing managers index printed at 53.9 in November - half a point below consensus expectations.

The service sector business survey added to a run of negative releases out of the United States over the past week.

In corporate news, Campbell Soup and Slack were both scheduled to report earnings.