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US, EU avert trade war with 15% tariff deal

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Nike ( NKE ) rises after JP Morgan upgrade

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Chinese, U.S. officials resume trade talks

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Indexes: Dow off 0.14%, S&P 500 up 0.02%, Nasdaq up 0.33%

(Adds trading volume, market breadth)

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, July 28 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 edged higher to eke out a record high close for

a sixth straight session on Monday, while the Nasdaq also

advanced to a closing record in choppy trade as investors gauged

the U.S.-EU trade pact and prepared for a week of major market

catalysts.

U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission

President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a

trade framework

on Sunday, slashing EU import tariffs to 15% - half the

previously threatened rate that was scheduled to take effect on

August 1. Still, France denounced the deal as a "submission."

The deal is the latest announcement in recent days on

U.S. trade agreements with countries such as Japan and

Indonesia. Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials

resumed talks

in Stockholm to resolve a trade war between the world's two

largest economies.

"It's feel-good in the sense that it doesn't represent

Armageddon, if the draconian tariffs went into place," said

Scott Welch, chief investment officer at Certuity in Potomac,

Maryland.

"But it's much too soon to pass judgment on the

long-term effects on how that will play out. It's better than

the alternative for sure, and so I hope they continue."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 64.36

points, or 0.14%, to 44,837.56, the S&P 500 gained 1.13

points, or 0.02%, to 6,389.77 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 70.27 points, or 0.33%, to 21,178.58.

The benchmark S&P 500 index has now notched six straight

daily closing records, en route to its 15th closing record of

the year. Stocks have rebounded strongly from a selloff that

began in early April when Trump announced a slew of tariffs.

Mounting enthusiasm over the potential for AI technology

has helped lift stocks, along with the realization of some trade

pacts and early indications corporate earnings season may be

better than anticipated.

Investors now await a policy announcement from the

Federal Reserve on Wednesday. The central bank is

widely expected

to keep U.S. rates unchanged even as Trump has ramped up

pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower borrowing costs.

Also on deck this week were a slew of corporate

earnings, including results from heavyweights Meta,

Microsoft ( MSFT ), Amazon ( AMZN ) and Apple ( AAPL ), which

could sway broader investor sentiment in either direction.

Along with the Fed meeting and earnings, a number of

economic indicators are scheduled to be released this week,

including the Personal Consumption Expenditure report (PCE) -

the Fed's preferred inflation measure - and the government

payrolls report to gauge how tariffs may have affected consumer

prices and the labor market.

Nike ( NKE ) climbed 3.89% after J.P. Morgan upgraded

the stock to "overweight" from "neutral" and said investors

should "just buy it".

Energy, up 1.15% was the best performing S&P sector

on the session, buoyed by a jump of more than 2% in oil prices

while real estate, down 1.75%, and materials

, off 1.44%, were the worst performing.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.81-to-1

ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.48-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 26 new 52-week highs and five new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 68 new highs and 54

new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 17.58 billion shares,

compared with the 17.84 billion average for the full session

over the last 20 trading days.