U.S. stocks rose as renewed signs of easing trade tensions diverted attention from the swirling impeachment drama in Washington. The dollar rallied the most since March.

The S&P 500 halted a three-day slide, with tech and bank shares pacing the gain. Equities rattled by the political turmoil in America turned higher after President Donald Trump suggested a trade deal with China was possible and then moved toward a pact with Japan. The advance recouped most of Tuesday’s drop sparked by the start of a formal impeachment inquiry of Trump.

“Markets are way more interested in a trade deal with China,” Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group in Richmond, VA. “Now that the Congress is deadlocked into impeachment, the president can close a deal with China to boost the global economy into 2020, just in time for ballots to be cast.”

In company news, Philip Morris and Altria both advanced after ending merger talks, while Marathon surged on activist intervention. Nike Inc. rose to a record after strong results. Financials paced gains as Treasury yields turned higher. The dollar rallied versus major peers, rising more than 1 per cent versus the pound and 0.7 per cent versus the yen.

The impeachment push added a fresh element of risk into markets already on edge over trade and signs of slowing global growth, but trade has reliably been the biggest determinant of asset moves, and Trump’s conciliatory comments toward China helped ease some angst over the political upheaval.

“You can’t trade this stuff right now, it’s impossible,” Michael Purves, chief executive officer at Tallbacken Capital Advisors LLC, said on Bloomberg TV Wednesday. "There’s so many different scenarios, you almost have to ignore it and keep investing the way you would.”

In Europe, the mood was more dour. Equities slumped amid rising concern that growth is flagging. U.K. shares fell as parliament reconvened amid Brexit turmoil. Asian benchmarks retreated, with losses of more than 1 per cent in Hong Kong, South Korea, mainland China and India. Crude futures declined after Saudi Aramco said it was ahead of schedule in restoring output.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index rose 0.6 per cent as of 4 p.m. New York time.
The Nasdaq 100 Index added 1.2 per cent.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.6 per cent.
Switzerland’s SMI Index dropped 1.2 per cent.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 0.7 per cent.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped 0.6 per cent.
The British pound sank 1.1 per cent to US$1.235.
The euro fell 0.7 per cent to US$1.0942.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.7 per cent to 107.82 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased eight basis points to 1.73 per cent.
The yield on two-year Treasuries rose five basis points to 1.68 per cent.
Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.509 per cent.
Japan’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to -0.255 per cent.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude sank 1.3 per cent to US$56.53 a barrel.
The Bloomberg Commodity Index declined 0.8 per cent.
Gold futures tumbled 1.9 per cent to US$1,510.60 an ounce.