Major US stocks rose significantly, as stronger-than-expected Chinese July trade data and the appreciation of the renminbi somewhat reassured investors worried about escalating trade tensions.

The Chinese currency strengthened slightly against the dollar on Thursday, as the People's Bank of China (NBK) set the yuan against the dollar higher than expected, which eased concerns that the protracted trade standoff between China and the U.S. would escalate into a currency war.

Also a relief for the market was the unexpected increase in Chinese exports in July and a less significant than expected decline in imports. This gave rise to optimism that concerns about a slowdown in global growth were greatly exaggerated, despite continued trade tensions between the US and China.

Market participants also received optimistic data on the US labor market: a Labor Department report indicated that the number of initial applications for unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly last week, suggesting that the labor market remains strong, even despite the economic slowdown. According to the report, initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 8,000 to 209,000, seasonally adjusted for the week ending August 3. The data for the previous week were revised to show 2,000 applications more than previously reported.

All DOW components recorded an increase (30 out of 30). The biggest gainers were Dow Inc. (DOW; + 3.90%).

All S&P sectors completed trading in positive territory. The largest growth was shown by the technology sector (+ 2.2%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 26,378.53 +371.46 + 1.43%

S&P 500 2,938.13 +54.13 + 1.88%

Nasdaq 100 8,039.16 +176.33 + 2.24%