Wall Street Gains On Hopes For China-US Talks

US markets have finished higher on optimism for renewed Sino-US trade talks, and a signal that the European Central Bank could cut interest rates.

The Dow Jones was up 1.3 percent or 353 points to 26,465. The S&P 500 rose 1.0 percent to 2,917, while the Nasdaq climbed 1.4 percent to 7,953.

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said further interest rates cuts "remain part of our tools" in response to weakening growth.

Draghi's comments - which lifted stocks early in the day - came as the US Federal Reserve kicked off a two-day policy meeting

Although the Fed is not expected to cut interest rates on Wednesday, investors have been heartened by more dovish comments lately from central bankers and will be analysing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's statements for clues on future steps, which they hope will signal a clear willingness to boost the economy.

Trump has repeatedly criticised the Fed and pressured Powell to cut rates, and on Tuesday lashed out at Draghi's statements, saying an ECB cut would unfairly harm US goods competing with a cheaper euro.

Among individual companies, embattled aerospace giant Boeing shot up 5.4 percent after it announced the sale of 200 of the 737 MAX planes to International Airlines Group.

The announcement at the Paris Air Show comes as Boeing's global fleet of 737 MAX planes remains grounded following two crashes that killed 346 people. Boeing has said it is making progress with regulators on having an upgraded plane recertified.

Chip companies were among the biggest beneficiaries of increased hopes over US-China trade talks. Broadcom jumped 4.5 percent, Micron Technology 5.7 percent and Nvidia 5.4 percent. (AFP)