Wall Street gets another boost on reports US, China deal reached

US stocks got a second shot in the arm on Thursday afternoon following media reports that US and Chinese officials have struck a partial trade deal that awaits President Donald Trump's approval.

The reports followed a Trump tweet earlier in the day that claimed the two sides were close to a "BIG DEAL" on trade, but since the tweet stocks had pared some gains.

Bloomberg and CNBC reported the two sides have an agreement in principle, two months after Trump first announced a "phase one" bargain had been struck.

Trump has agreed not to impose tariffs on USD 160 billion in Chinese imports on Sunday, according to various reports.

At 2000 GMT, the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7 per cent at 28,116.48, while the broader S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq had each gained 0.6 per cent at 3,160.35 and 8,701.82 respectively.

Earlier in the day, investors also digested commentary from the European Central Bank, which on Thursday tweaked its eurozone growth forecasts and said a slowdown could be stabilizing.

British voters meanwhile were headed to the polls in a general election that could help determine the outcome of Brexit.

"Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China. They want it, and so do we!" Trump tweeted five minutes after the start of trading.

Among individual companies, shares in engineering giant General Electric and coffee chain Starbucks were both up following analyst upgrades.

Delta was up three percent after the company offered positive guidance for 2020.

Tech companies Adobe, Broadcom and Oracle are due to report earnings after the close.