Stocks rose on Thursday as trade talks between China and the U.S. restarted, but fears that the economy may be slowing down persisted.
The Dow Jones Industrials strengthened 91.87 points to 25,717.46, as shares of Nike and J.P. Morgan Chase outperformed.
The S&P 500 increased 10.07 points to 2,815.44. The broad index is also headed for its best first-quarter performance since 1998, rising 12.3%.
The NASDAQ Composite recovered 25.79 points to 7,669.17
PVH Corp. outperformed all stocks in the broader index, surging 14.8% on strong earnings. J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America all rose more than 1%.
Various media reported overnight that Chinese officials made unprecedented offers regarding force technology transfers as well as other major sticking points. The report comes as U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin arrived in Beijing for further negotiations.
Trade between China and the U.S. has been a key issue for Wall Street as investors fear a prolonged standoff between the world's largest economies could hinder corporate profits and economic growth.
In economic news, the U.S. economy grew by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the government's final read released Thursday.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury remained at Thursday 2.39%, their lowest level since Dec. 15, 2017.
Oil prices dropped two cents to $59.39 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $21.30 to $1,295.60 U.S. an ounce.