Wall Street opens higher amid renewed trade optimism

Major equity indexes in the United States started the day in the positive territory as the latest headlines surrounding the U.S.-China trade talks boosted the risk appetite. With the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, falling more than 3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is adding 0.4% while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are up 0.45% and 0.6%, respectively.

Reporting on today's talks between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and USTR Lighthizer & Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, Bloomberg said that negotiators were going through the text of the agreement line by line. Furthermore, Chinese news agency Xinhua said trade talks made new progress today.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the trade-sensitive Energy and Industrials are adding 0.88% and 0.75%, respectively, to lead the gains in the early trade. On the other hand, the so-called defensive sectors,  Utilities and Real Estate, are staying in the negative territory.