Dow sees eighth straight positive finish as US-China trade spat fizzes out

 (AFP/APP): Wall Street closed higher on Monday, off the session highs but enough to extend last week's steady gains as the benchmark Dow recorded its eighth positive close in row.

Investors were cheered by news President Donald Trump had offered China an olive branch in its trade dispute, vowing to ease the pain from US sanctions on Chinese telecoms equipment maker ZTE. But the trading session saw stocks sag as early gains eroded.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3 percent to close at 24,899.41 while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained about 0.1 percent to finish at 2,730.13 and 7,411.32, respectively.

The signs of detente between Washington and Beijing on ZTE, however, come as other trade hazards loom. China and the United States have threatened to put tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in exported goods and officials from both nations are due to continue talks in Washington this week.

Art Hogan of Wunderlich Securities told AFP that Wall Street always welcomes signs of easing trade tensions.

"Anytime you get a dent on that concern, the market seems to rally and that is helping today," he said. "Nothing concrete necessarily, but a glimmer of hope."

United Health and Walmart were the Dow's biggest gainers, adding 1.9 percent and 1.2 percent respectively.

But optical component makers that supply ZTE saw their stocks rise even higher. Oclaro gained 2.9 percent and Lumentum added 2.2 percent. Aircraft giant Boeing, highly exposed to the Chinese market, added 0.6 percent.

Elsewhere, cybersecurity firm Symantec Corp surged 9.6 percent after telling investors it would reveal more information about a planned internal audit and take questions about its quarterly results and outlook.

Xerox dove 4.3 percent the day after the company said it had scrapped a $6.1 billion deal with Fujifilm Holdings.