Stocks open with modest gains as trade talks between the U.S. and China resume today in Beijing in hopes of making progress before the March 1 deadline; S&P and Dow both +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.3%.

China struck an upbeat note on the talks and the Shanghai exchange jumped +1.3% after a week-long Lunar New Year holiday; elsewhere, European bourses trade higher, with France’s CAC +1%, Germany’s DAX +0.8% and U.K.’s FTSE +0.7%, while Japan’s Nikkei was closed for a holiday.

The S&P 500 sectors show industrials (+0.7%), information technology (+0.6%) and consumer discretionary (+0.5%) leading the advance, while energy (-0.5%) and real estate (flat) lag.

U.S. Treasury prices edge lower, pushing both the two-year and 10-year yields up 3 bps to 2.49% and 2.66%, respectively; the U.S. Dollar Index +0.3% to 96.96.

U.S. WTI crude oil -2.2% to $51.56/bbl on rising drilling activity in the U.S. and the shutdown of a large crude distillation unit in Illinois following a fire.