NEW YORK, Oct 9 — Wall Street stocks jumped early today following reports that a limited US-China trade deal is possible ahead of this week’s negotiations.

Major indices had lost more than one per cent yesterday after new US sanctions on Chinese entities prompted a brusque response from Beijing, setting a harsh tone ahead of high-level trade talks due to begin tomorrow.

But media reports early today said Beijing was still open to a pared-down agreement that could link Beijing to higher agricultural purchases in exchange for a hold on new US tariff measures.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5 per cent at 26,296.68.

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The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.6 per cent to 2,911.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.8 per cent to 7,882.64.

Investors are looking ahead to the release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes about the Fed’s most recent interest rate cut that could shed light on the likelihood of additional rate cuts.

Among individual companies, Johnson & Johnson fell 0.9 per cent after a jury in Pennsylvania ruled the company should pay US$8 billion (RM33.6 billion) in punitive damages over the psychiatric drug Risperdal. The company said it would appeal. — AFP

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