Stocks open broadly higher on Wall Street, adding to gains

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are off to a bullish start on Wall Street as traders welcome some good company earnings reports and a solid increase in retail sales last month. Morgan Stanley jumped 7.2% in early trading Thursday after reporting a big jump in earnings in the fourth quarter. Technology companies were also posting gains. Safe-play sectors like real estate lagged the rest of the market. The S&P 500 rose 17 points, or 0.5%, to 3,306. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 155 points, or 0.5%, to 29,182. The Nasdaq rose 60 points, or 0.7%, to 9,319. Bond prices fell, sending yields higher.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Global markets were subdued Thursday after the signing of a preliminary China-U.S. trade agreement that investors hope will bring better relations between the world's two biggest economies.

After Asian markets largely closed higher, Germany's DAX was down 0.1% to 13,418. The CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.1% to 6,027, while Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 0.4% to 7,609.

Wall Street looked set for small gains, with the future contracts for the S&P 500 and the Dow both rising 0.3%.

U.S. President Donald Trump and China's chief negotiator, Liu He, signed the “Phase 1" deal on Wednesday before a group of corporate executives and reporters at the White House. The pact eases some sanctions on China. In return, Beijing has agreed to step up its purchases of U.S. farm products and other goods.

The agreement helped propel the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 29,000 points for the first time and the S&P 500 index hit its second record high in three days Wednesday.

The deal done, traders will likely shift their attention elsewhere. China releases an update on its economic growth on Friday. But skepticism over...