(The Closing Bell will be updated sometime after 4:00 PM CDST to include the latest updates from IBD and Bloomberg Evening Briefing.)
FYI: U.S. stocks climbed, advancing for a second consecutive session on hopes that thawing trade tensions will boost the outlook for the world economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 115 points, or 0.45%, at 25648. The S&P 500 added 0.59%, moving 3% below its April 30 record. It remains up 14% for the year. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite added 1.13%.
Stocks erased declines from earlier in the day after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said U.S. negotiators are likely to travel to Beijing soon and reports emerged that the Trump administration is putting off a final decision on whether to impose broad tariffs on automobile and auto-part imports.
Updates on global trade policy have swung markets in recent days, with stocks rising and falling on shifting bets about the U.S. and China eventually reaching an agreement. Many investors are broadly worried about higher tariffs crimping economic and profit growth, leading to an uptick in volatility so far this month.
In one sign of heightened growth worries, bond yields slid with investors seeking safety in U.S. Treasurys. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 2.384%, according to Tradeweb, from 2.421% a day earlier. Bond yields fall as prices rise.
Among individual stocks Wednesday, Macy’s swung between gains and losses and was recently down 1.3% after the retailer posted stronger-than-expected sales growth in its latest quarter.
Investors will also parse coming earnings from Walmart and other sellers of consumer goods for possible clues about how the companies plan to handle 25% tariffs on more than $40 billion of goods that are imported from China and directly purchased by U.S. consumers.
Internet stocks extended a recent rebound, with Google parent Alphabet rising more than 4% after Deutsche Bank increased its price target on the stock and Facebook and Netflix also climbing about 3%.
Earlier, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.9% Wednesday following an upbeat session in the U.S. a day earlier. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.5%, while Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average advanced 0.6%.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-15/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-futures-edge-lower-ahead-of-retail-sales-data-trade-worries-linger-2019-05-15/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-pause-on-mixed-economic-data-11557906881Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-14/asia-stocks-set-to-climb-after-u-s-rebound-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/nasdaq-today-leads-stocks-market-extends-rebound/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/15/stock-market-trade-war-fears-subside.htmlReuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-st-turns-higher-as-trump-likely-to-delay-auto-tariffs-idUSKCN1SL1ASU.K:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/prospect-of-easing-trade-tensions-weaker-pound-lift-ftse-100-idUKKCN1SL0QEEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/auto-stocks-drive-european-shares-higher-on-tariff-delay-hopes-idUSKCN1SL292Asia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-mostly-rise-following-wall-streets-lead-2019-05-14/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/15/us-bonds-economic-data.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/15/forex-market-us-china-trade-talks-european-data-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/15/oil-market-us-crude-stockpiles-middle-east-tensions-in-focus.htmlGold
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/15/gold-market-us-china-trade-talks-european-data-in-focus.htmlWSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/usMajor ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitorSPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-trackerSPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectorsCurrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
