U.S. stocks opened higher Thursday as investors looked beyond a looming deadline for tariffs to healthy economic data and a potential de-escalation of some trade tensions.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 130 points, or 0.5%, to 24305 shortly after the opening bell. The S&P 500 edged up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7%.
The U.S. is scheduled to impose tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports Friday and China is expected to counter with corresponding tariffs on U.S. imports, as the world’s two biggest economies remain locked in a trade dispute that has roiled financial markets for months.
But many investors say a full-blown trade war can still be prevented and that the measures wouldn’t severely affect the global economy.
“Investing in the medium term is going to be bumpy as trade headlines continue to hit sentiment,” said James Athey, senior investment manager at Aberdeen Standard Investments. “But while risks are everywhere, the underlying economic fundamentals are very strong.”
Shares of car makers rose after a German press report that the U.S. proposed to stop threatening to impose tariffs on cars imported from the European Union if the EU lifts duties on U.S. car imports. Shares of General Motors gained 1.8%, and Ford rose 0.8%.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday Berlin was willing to cut import tariffs on cars as a way to end the Europe-U.S. trade standoff.
“We need a European agreement if we want to renegotiate tariffs, for instance in the car sector,” she said, adding that any offer to reduce car tariffs would have to be made to other auto exporters—not just the U.S.—to abide by international trade rules.
Traders coming back from the U.S. Independence Day holiday will be focusing on minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s June meeting, as well as the Labor Department’s monthly employment report Friday.
“The June FOMC Minutes should shed some light on the Fed’s level of conviction behind a fourth rate increase later this year,” analysts at Société Générale wrote in a research note.
Data on Thursday showed that German manufacturing orders rebounded in May, an early sign that Europe’s largest economy may be shaking off a weak start to the year. The economics ministry said total manufacturing orders rose 2.6% from April, beating the 1.1% gain expected by economists.
“Positioning in risk assets is not stretched and global data seems better after weakness in the first and most of the second quarter,” said Athanasios Vamvakidis, strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Still, market watchers say global trade frictions will continue to unnerve markets.
Mr. Athey said he has been trimming positions in recent weeks as he sought to reduce risk amid a plethora of political and trade headlines. “Volatility doesn’t seem to be going away,” he said.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose slightly to 2.844%, according to TradeWeb, from 2.833% Tuesday. Yields move inversely to prices. The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of 16 currencies, was down 0.1%.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.4%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average finished down 0.8%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shed 0.2%.
Crude oil was trading lower after President Donald Trump, in a tweet late Wednesday, repeated his call to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to help reduce prices. Gold added 0.2%.
Write to Georgi Kantchev at georgi.kantchev@wsj.com
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