*

Mining stocks rise on China's stimulus package

*

Visa falls as DOJ files lawsuit for alleged antitrust

violations

*

U.S.-listed Chinese firms jump after domestic stimulus

plan

(Recasts with preliminary close of trading)

By Echo Wang

Sept 24 (Reuters) -

U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday, shrugging off weak

consumer confidence data, as mining stocks surged following

China's announcement of a sweeping stimulus package.

The indexes initially trimmed gains after a report from the

Conference Board revealed an unexpected decline in U.S. consumer

confidence in September, driven by growing concerns about the

labor market's health.

"Today's price action is predominantly about what happened

overnight with the policy announcements from China, direct

support for their equity market and pledges to cut interest

rates in the future, has caused a really sharp move in

international stocks in general," said Zachary Hill, head of

portfolio management at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North

Carolina.

"That's feeding through into parts of the U.S. market, where

you see some more China-sensitive, more cyclical industries like

metals and mining materials sector outperforming."

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

gained 15.89 points, or 0.28%, to end at 5,734.46 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite gained 100.25 points, or

0.56%, to 18,074.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 103.11 points, or 0.23%, to 42,227.76.

Metal prices got a boost after the world's second-largest

economy, China, unveiled its biggest stimulus since the pandemic

to pull the economy out of its deflationary funk.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms such as Alibaba

and PDD Holdings ( PDD ) rose, tracking gains in the domestic

market.

Visa shares fell sharply after the U.S. Department of

Justice sued the company for alleged antitrust violations.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman

cautioned that key inflation measures remained "uncomfortably

above" the Fed's 2% target, warranting caution as the Fed

proceeds with cutting interest rates.

Weekly jobless claims and personal consumption expenditure

data remain in focus this week.