U.S. stocks trade mixed

NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as the Dow retreated and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes rose slightly, building on strong gains from the previous session.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 18.13 points, or 0.07 percent, to 24,995.16. The S&P 500 gained 4.74 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,737.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 9.56 points, or 0.13 percent, to 7,403.60.

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.

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. Enditem