The markets started modestly lower today, as fear about the Unites States’ ability to strike a trade deal with China increased. However, sentiment recovered throughout the early portion of the day, as good economic data included lower-than-expected initial jobless claims. Also, earnings releases from a few companies showed solid year-over-year improvements. Meantime, the Dow Jones Industrial Average started trending notably higher. In the latter part of the trading session, a report broke that the U.S. could ease tariffs on goods from China during negotiations. This caused the indices to spike, with the Dow rising by as many as 267 points, briefly eclipsing its 50-day moving average. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ followed suit. However, the full move higher was short lived, and those additional gains were given back somewhat. All told, the Dow finished the day up 163 points, the S&P 500 was higher by 20 points, and the NASDAQ gained 50 points.