NEW YORK, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. equities finished significantly higher on Friday as market sentiment was underpinned by the latest round of trade talks between China and the United States.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 319.92 points, or 1.21 percent, to 26,816.59. The S&P 500 rose 32.14 points, or 1.09 percent, to 2,970.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 106.26 points, or 1.34 percent, to 8,057.04.
Trade bellwether Caterpillar closed up 4.65 percent, among the best-performing stocks in the Dow. Apple, another trade-sensitive stock, rose 2.66 percent.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors gained, with industrials and materials up 1.97 percent and 1.91 percent, respectively, leading the advancers.
Chipmaker stocks advanced broadly, contributing to the market. VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH), which tracks the overall performances of major U.S. exchange-listed companies in the semiconductor industry, rose 2.28 percent.
Wall Street kept a close eye on the latest round of U.S.-China trade talks.
"Obviously, the market has been waiting and hoping anxiously about a trade deal with China," Peter Tuchman, an experienced trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, told Xinhua.
"The market responded positively to all of that hope and the news relating to the talks," he added.
On the economic front, the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index came in at 96 for October, data showed Friday, exceeding a Dow Jones estimate of 92.
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