US close: Stocks close higher following some positive trade headlines
US stocks closed higher on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hitting record highs in early trading as market participants remained largely focused on the long-running trade dispute between Washington and Beijing.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.68% at 28,066.47, while the S&P 500 was ahead 0.75% at 3,133.64 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.32% firmer at 8,632.49.
The Dow Jones closed 190.85 points higher on Monday after seeing out the previous week in the green after stocks managed to snap a three-day losing streak that had seen the historic rally pause.
US national security advisor Robert O'Brien boosted investor sentiment after saying on Saturday that the 'phase one' trade deal between Beijing and Washington could happen before 2019 was out. However, he also warned that US President Donald Trump would not ignore ongoing protests in Hong Kong, where pro-democracy candidates registered a symbolic majority in district council elections at the weekend.
Still on the trade front, the Chinese government released a document on Sunday pushing for more protection of intellectual property rights, one of the key issues at the centre of trade talks with the US.
"Strengthening IPR protection is the most important content of improving the IPR protection system and also the biggest incentive to boost China's economic competitiveness," said the General Offices of the Communist Party of China.
The note called for speeding up the introduction of a punitive compensation system for the infringement of patents and copyrights, as well as strengthening the protection of trade secrets, confidential business information and source codes.
Oanda's Craig Elam said: "It seems there's now cause for optimism again after reports that China is open to tightening rules on intellectual property, with Chinese state media claiming a deal is now close. Unfortunately, we've been here so many times before I'm struggling to get particularly excited.
"Even if these reports turn out to be true, there will likely be a price for this concession in the form of tariff removals, something Trump has shown little appetite for so far."
On the data front, the Chicago Fed's national activity index slowed further in October, coming in at -0.71 and missing consensus forecasts of -0.20. The index's 3-month moving average fell to –0.31 in October from –0.21 in September.
Elsewhere, manufacturing activity in Texas contracted in November for the first time since 2016, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
The Dallas Fed's production index dipped into negative territory this month to -2.4.
In corporate news, jeweller Tiffany & Co rallied 6.13% after agreeing to be bought by French luxury goods company LVMH for $16.7bn.
Stockbroker TD Ameritrade was up 7.58% at the end of trade after it agreed to be bought by Charles Schwab in an all-share deal valued at around $26.0bn.
Both deals gave markets a solid boost.
Uber shares, on the other hand, were down 1.52% after it was stripped of its licence to operate in London, while Jacobs Engineering shares were down 2.82% following the release of its latest quarterly earnings.