Stocks rose moderately for a second day Thursday with a boost from optimism about trade talks. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both rose 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq was up 1.1 percent. Bond yields, oil prices and the dollar all rose.

Stocks rose in the morning after President Trump announced the US and UK had agreed on the outlines of a bilateral trade deal. Investors are inclined to see the pact as likely to lead to a formal deal and a series of similar trade deals with other US trading partners. Markets are also hopeful that talks between the US and China scheduled to start over the weekend will also lead to a de-escalation of the trade war which has threatened to raise inflation while undercutting growth globally.

Technology shares drew support from news Wednesday that the Trump administration would scale back some restrictions on semiconductor exports. Alphabet rose after the company said its search query growth remains strong. Boeing rallied after President Trump said the UK trade deal calls for a large UK purchase of Boeing aircraft.

In economic news, stocks reacted positively to news that weekly jobless claims fell back more than expected in the latest week after a worrisome uptick in the previous week. That allayed concern about a softening job market.

Market Reflections track market reaction to the trading day's major events. Economic data, policymaker speeches, and company news are featured in this report as well as key indexes and financial instruments.

Understanding why markets respond as they do is fundamental for an investor. Market Reflections help explain how the day's events, news, and data impact the outlook for the economy and for market prices.