(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose broadly on Thursday as the United States dialed back its stance on tariffs on European cars while moving to impose duties on Chinese goods worth $34 billion.
Tariffs continued to dictate trading activity but investors also awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve’s minutes from its June 12-13 policy meeting, where it raised interest rates for the second time this year and signaled that more are likely.
Shares of big U.S. automakers General Motors and Ford rose but technology stocks led the gains, with chipmakers Qualcomm, Micron and Qorvo rising the most in tech indexes.
Part of those gains were driven by Micron, which forecast only a small hit from a temporary ban on some chip sales in China, also lifting the S&P technology index and the Philadelphia Semiconductor index.
The Trump administration’s tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports are due to go into effect at 0401 GMT on Friday and Beijing said it would respond immediately and in equal measure on U.S. goods ranging from cars to soybeans.
There was no evidence of any last-minute negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials, business sources in Washington and Beijing said.
“You have mixed messages about tariffs coming out of Washington,” said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.
“It’s creating a lot of uncertainty about the direction of the true intentions of the White House.”
(GRAPHIC: The U.S.-China tariff war and the S&P 500 - reut.rs/2tV7kTm)
Trade tensions between the two economies have roiled financial markets since early March, reducing the S&P 500’s gain to just
