US stocks bounce back after trade war swoon

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks bounced early Thursday, recovering some of the prior session's declines that were stoked by trade war worries.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 24,840.58, up 0.6 percent.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent to 2,784.05, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5 percent to 7,753.76.

US stocks snapped a four-day winning streak on Wednesday after President Donald Trump's administration announced it would push ahead with new tariffs on China, prompting a sharp response from Beijing.

But stocks pushed back higher again on Thursday, with some analysts pointing to a more conciliatory stance by Trump at a NATO summit in Brussels.

Trump had on Wednesday lambasted Germany and other allies for not contributing enough funds for defense. But Trump said Thursday he supported NATO and claimed to winning concessions for more funds from allies.

Among data releases, the annual measure of US consumer inflation stayed at a six-year high in June, the Labor Department reported.

For the last 12 months the consumer price index, which tracks prices for household goods and services, was 2.9 percent higher, the same as in May which was the highest rate since February 2012.

Software and services firm CA Technologies surged 17.9 percent after agreeing to be acquired by semiconductor giant Broadcom for $18.9 billion. Broadcom slumped 17.9 percent.

Delta Air Lines gained 2.1 percent after reporting better-than-expected second quarter profits.

However, the US carrier projected annual earnings between $5.35 to $5.70 per share, below the $5.74 expected by analysts. Delta cited the drag from higher fuel costs as a factor.