U.S. stocks open higher as trade tension ease

NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday as positive sentiment continued to fuel the market on eased trade tensions between China and the United States.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 15.24 points, or 0.06 percent, to 25,028.53. The S&P 500 gained 5.91 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,738.92. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 30.37 points, or 0.41 percent, to 7,424.40.

China and the United States issued a joint statement over the weekend on economic and trade consultations, vowing not to launch a trade war against each other.

Analysts said the statement offered investors some relief over concerns about trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies.

During the earnings season, many companies had cited trade tensions as a major uncertainty for 2018, so any news about eased trade tensions was good news for investors.

By Monday's closing, the Dow surged nearly 300 points, above the 25,000 threshold Monday for the first time since March, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite advanced 0.74 percent and 0.54 percent, respectively.

Monday's gains of the Dow were led by Boeing, United Technologies and Caterpillar, which rose 3.6 percent, 2.3 percent, and 2.1 percent, respectively, at market closing.

Intel and 3M, the Dow Component companies that both lagged behind earlier in times of trade tensions, rose 1.5 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

All 11 sectors of the S&P 500 traded in positive territory on Monday, with industrial and telecom sectors leading the gain. The industrials rose 1.54 percent while the telecom sector was up 1.49 percent. Enditem