Wall Street rises on trade hope, Apple limits tech recovery

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as technology stocks bounced back after a steep selloff in the previous session and hopes of progress in the U.S.-China trade talks boosted industrials, even though a decline in Apple Inc curbed gains.

The S&P technology index rose 0.6 percent following three days of losses, but shares of Apple edged 1.3 percent lower, entering its fourth day in the red.

Also helping the markets was a report that said China's top trade negotiator was preparing to visit the United States before a meeting between the leaders of the world's two largest economies.

The trade-sensitive industrial sector rose 0.5 percent, boosted by shares of Caterpillar Inc and United Technologies Corp.

"It seems like some pressure regarding trade has been alleviated," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at New Vines Capital LLC in Bernardsville, New Jersey. "However, the market will take a defensive posture until visibility increases with regard to trade."

The development comes as China President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump plan to meet on the sidelines of a G20 summit that is being held in Argentina at the end of November.

The main indexes tumbled in the previous session on Monday as shares of Apple slid 5 percent after several suppliers to the iPhone maker cut their forecasts, signaling that demand for the phones could be softening.

Following that, Goldman Sachs cut its earnings estimate for Apple and another key supplier Foxconn, reported a weaker-than-expected rise in quarterly profit.

After a stellar rally for technology shares that has fueled a decade-long gain for U.S. stocks, appetite for the group has started to wane lately on concerns about tighter regulation and demand for chipmakers.

Allocation to the global tech sector collapsed to the lowest since February 2009, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey that also showed the S&P 500 index was broadly expected to rise 12 percent more before peaking.

At 10:01 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 54.28 points, or 0.21 percent, at 25,332.90, the S&P 500 was up 4.76 points, or 0.17 percent, at 2,730.98 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 14.96 points, or 0.21 percent, at 7,215.83.

The Dow was weighed down by shares of Home Depot Inc, which reversed course to fall 0.9 percent following the No.1 home improvement chain's results. Boeing Co's shares also fell 3.5 percent.

Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, but the energy index was lower as oil prices fell more than 2 percent and utilities sector. also declined.

Advance Auto Parts Inc rose 8.9 percent after the company raised full-year sales forecast and reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.

Meat processor Tyson Foods Inc fell 6 percent after its fourth-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street estimates, hit by lower demand for chicken.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.89-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.95-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 4 new 52-week highs and seven new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 6 new highs and 54 new lows.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)