Stocks advanced Wednesday — investors were hopeful about US/China trade relations after the latest comments from both sides. They also saw some reassuring signs in British politics. President Donald Trump, in an interview with Reuters, said trade talks were under way with China. Traders said China made the first major purchase of US soybeans since Washington and Beijing agreed to a temporary trade truce earlier this month. Also, Trump said he would intervene in a case against a top executive at Huawei Technologies if it would help secure a trade deal. The Dow Jones industrials were up 0.6 percent, the S&P gained 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq added 0.9 percent. Trading continued to be choppy.

Stocks ended a day of choppy trading mixed. A positive was that investors seemed hopeful about China/US trade talks. This reversed an earlier slump that coincided with President Donald Trump’s threat to shut down the US government. An official told the media late in the trading session that China had indicated it will cut tariffs on US autos to 15 percent from 40 percent but that the Trump administration was awaiting formal documentation and timing. Trading got a strong start to the session on news that US and Chinese officials had discussed a road map for the next stage of trade talks, which Trump called “very productive.”