NEW YORK — Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday (3/6) as investor optimism rose ahead of a scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, expected to address a resolution to the ongoing trade war.

At the same time, investors digested economic data showing signs of weakness ahead of the US employment report due this Friday.

The Nasdaq posted the strongest gain, rising 0.81%, followed by the S&P 500 which rose 0.58%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average which climbed 0.51%.

Gains were led by technology shares, particularly in the semiconductor sector, which is highly sensitive to global trade developments.

“There seems to be a little bit more comfort that the economy is not going into recession,” said Chuck Carlson, CEO of Horizon Investment Services, as quoted by Channel News Asia on Wednesday (4/6).

“We have a jobs report that's going to be coming out and investors want to get on the right side of that before it's released,” he added.

Although trade negotiations between the US and its partners remain protracted, investors are hopeful that this weekend’s high-level talks will yield positive results.

Nevertheless, concerns linger. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned that the global economy is on track for a sharper slowdown than previously forecast, due to protectionist policies that have spurred inflation and disrupted supply chains.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) echoed the caution, lowering its global employment outlook amid trade-related tensions.

Recent data from the US Department of Labor showed an unexpected increase in job openings in April, although new orders for manufactured goods dropped more sharply than analysts had forecast.

Meanwhile, the US dollar rebounded from a six-week low. The dollar index rose 0.71% to 99.28, supported by euro weakness and gains against the Japanese yen.

Gold prices retreated from a four-week high due to profit-taking and dollar strength.

In the bond market, yields on 10-year US Treasuries slipped slightly to 4.452%. Short-term 2-year yields rose marginally to 3.953%, reflecting investor expectations on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy path.

Oil prices also advanced. US crude rose 1.42% to USD 63.41 per barrel, while Brent crude gained 1.55% to USD 65.63 per barrel. Prices were buoyed by escalating geopolitical tensions, including intensifying conflict in Ukraine and renewed US-Iran tensions over the nuclear deal.

Elsewhere, stock markets in Europe and Asia were mixed. The STOXX 600 rose slightly by 0.09%, and the MSCI Asia-Pacific index (excluding Japan) added 0.37%, while Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.06%. (EF/ZH)