By Paul J. Davies and Caitlin Ostroff

--S&P 500, Dow industrials climb

--Yields rise in U.S. and Germany

--Oil slides after conflicting production forecasts

Global stock markets mostly moved higher Friday with investors closing out the week on a calm note following positive signals about U.S.-China trade talks.

U.S. shares rose in the opening minutes of trading in New York, with the broad S&P 500 climbing 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.4% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index advancing 0.5%.

Earlier, stock futures had risen after White House economic adviser Lawrence Kudlow indicated progress toward a potential trade deal with China and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell expressed optimism over the economy. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3% before the opening bell.

Markets could get a further boost later when the U.S. releases retail sales figures and industrial production data for October. Retail sales are forecast to be 0.2% higher on the month and industrial production 0.5% lower.

In U.S. premarket trading, J.C. Penney rose sharply after boosting part of its financial outlook for this fiscal year and reporting better-than-expected third-quarter results. The stock was up 20% before the open.

Chipmaker Applied Materials was up 5.3% after beating expectations for fourth-quarter earnings.

Investors are being reassured by a rebound in government-bond yields, particularly in the U.S., and the growing positive gap between 10-year yields and two-year yields, which is a move away from the recessionary signals of earlier this year.

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose 1.836% on Friday, according to FactSet, while 10-year German yields were at minus 0.341%.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo finished the day 0.7% higher, although it was marginally down for the week, while in Europe the Stoxx 600 was up 0.1% in early trade.

The mixed signals of progress between the U.S. and China have left investors in a lurch. Although the market sees a resolution as more likely, global stock indexes have hardly budged this week -- reflecting the continued concern for regression in talks.

"I think the uncertainty is still elevated," said Justin Onuekwusi, head of retail multi-asset funds at Legal & General Investment Management. "Just because you see an improvement doesn't mean it's gone away," he said.

In Europe, Swedish bank Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken dropped nearly 12%, its biggest decline in at least 10 years. The bank, commonly known as SEB, said a local TV company had contacted it about a forthcoming report about suspected money laundering, which claims to have information about SEB. Rivals Danske Bank and Swedbank have faced money laundering issues in the past couple of years that have roiled their share prices.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Hang Seng Index was flat Friday but ended the week down 4.8%, its worst week since early August, after antigovernment protests in the Chinese territory turned more violent with some of the worst clashes in six months of unrest. The Shanghai Composite Index ended the week down 2.5%.

There were conflicting signals for the oil markets: On Friday, the International Energy Agency raised its 2020 oil-production growth forecast for producers outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. However, that came just hours after OPEC had cut its forecast for oil production output for non-cartel countries next year.

Brent crude was down 0.5% to $61.96 a barrel.

Write to Paul J. Davies at paul.davies@wsj.com and Caitlin Ostroff at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 15, 2019 09:46 ET (14:46 GMT)

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