New York, Jul 9 (AP) Stocks closed higher on Wall Street as the Trump administration sought to win more deals with global trading partners. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5per cent, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.9per cent.

Nvidia became the first public company to top USD 4 trillion in value. Merck rose after announcing it would buy Verona Pharma, a UK company that focuses on respiratory diseases. Copper prices eased after spiking a day earlier as President Donald Trump said he would impose 50 per cent tariffs on imports of the metal. Treasury yields slipped in the bond market.

US stocks are higher in afternoon trading Wednesday as Wall Street weighs the latest developments in the Trump administration's bid to win more deals with global trading partners.

The S&P 500 was up 0.5 per cent, coming off a slight loss a day earlier. The benchmark index remains near the record it set last week after a better-than-expected US jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 179 points, or 0.4 per cent, as of 2.52 pm. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8 per cent higher.

Gains in technology and communication services stocks helped drive the market higher, outweighing declines in energy and other sectors.

Nvidia rose 1.7 per cent. The chipmaker became the first public company to top USD 4 trillion in value as its share price briefly topped USD 164 each in the early going. Shares in the AI boom poster child were going for around USD 14 per share at the start of 2023.

Elsewhere among Big Tech stocks, Microsoft was up 1.2 per cent, Meta rose 2.1 per cent and Google parent Alphabet added 1.2 per cent.

Amazon rose 1.5 per cent a day after the online retail giant kicked off Prime Day, extending it for the first time to four days.

In bond market trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury slid to 4.34 per cent from 4.40 per cent late Tuesday.

Wall Street has been focused this week on President Donald Trump's renewed push to use threats of higher tariffs on goods imported into the US in hopes of securing new trade agreements with countries around the globe.

Wednesday was initially set as a deadline by Trump for countries to make deals with the US or face heavy increases in tariffs. But with just two trade deals announced since April, one with the United Kingdom and one with Vietnam, the window for negotiations has been extended to August 1.

This latest phase in the White House's trade war heightens the threat of potentially more severe tariffs that's been hanging over the global economy. Higher taxes on imported goods could hinder economic growth, if not increase recession risks.

On Tuesday, Trump said he would be announcing tariffs on pharmaceutical drugs at a “very, very high rate, like 200 per cent.” He also said he would sign an executive order placing a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports, matching the rates charged on steel and aluminum.

Copper prices eased Wednesday after spiking a day earlier. Shares in mining company Freeport-McMoRan were down 2 per cent.

Financial markets swooned from day-to-day for weeks after the White House rolled out its proposed tariff hikes in the spring. With the new batch of US taxes on imports not set to kick in until next month, that gives Wall Street a breather just as the next corporate earnings season is set to begin.

“I think most people are tired of tariff news and they're starting to realise it just doesn't matter much,” said Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors. “We're pretty bullish about earnings. I think the rest of the market is too." Wall Street analysts predict that companies in the S&P 500 will deliver a combined 5 per cent annual growth in second-quarter earnings, according to FactSet. That would mark the lowest growth rate for the index since the fourth quarter of 2023.

Delta Air Lines kicks off earnings season on Thursday, with most analysts expecting the airline's second-quarter profit to decline from a year ago. Delta and other major US carriers have trimmed their flight schedules and pulled their forecasts this year as consumers pull back on travel and other nonessential spending due to uncertainty about how Trump's tariffs will affect their budgets.

Outside of trade talks, some corporate news surfaced Wednesday after a typically quiet early summer stretch.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck is buying Verona Pharma, a UK company that focuses on respiratory diseases, in an approximately USD 10 billion deal. If approved by Verona shareholders and UK officials, Merck will get access to Verona's chronic obstructive pulmonary disease medication Ohtuvayre. Verona shares jumped more than 20 per cent on the news, while Merck shares were up 3.1 per cent.

In overseas markets, stock indexes closed broadly higher in Europe after a mixed finish in Asia. (AP) OZ OZ